Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Marine; reef-associated; depth range 0 - 293 m (Ref. 5951). Subtropical; 46°N - 37°S, 98°W - 14°E
Western Atlantic: Nova Scotia, Canada south along the U.S., Bermuda, the Bahamas, throughout the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea, and along South America to Uruguay (Ref. 114078). Eastern Atlantic: Canary Islands, Morocco to Angola (Ref. 109259) including Madeira (Ref. 3592).
Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm 13.9, range 11 - ? cm
Max length : 36.9 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 124459); max. published weight: 364.20 g (Ref. 124459)
Found on sand or mud bottoms. Associated with Sargassum (Ref. 26340). Adults feed on benthic invertebrates (Ref. 5377). Edible but generally rejected by fishers (Ref. 5377).
Harmelin-Vivien, M.L. and J.-C. Quéro, 1990. Monacanthidae. p. 1061-1066. In J.C. Quero, J.C. Hureau, C. Karrer, A. Post and L. Saldanha (eds.) Check-list of the fishes of the eastern tropical Atlantic (CLOFETA). JNICT, Lisbon; SEI, Paris; and UNESCO, Paris. Vol. 2. (Ref. 3592)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2024-2)
Threat to humans
Reports of ciguatera poisoning (Ref. 30911)
Human uses
Fisheries: subsistence fisheries; aquarium: commercial
Tools
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Internet sources
Estimates based on models
Preferred temperature (Ref.
123201): 10.2 - 27, mean 21.1 °C (based on 480 cells).
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref.
82804): PD
50 = 0.5312 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.01738 (0.01460 - 0.02069), b=2.91 (2.86 - 2.96), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this species (Ref.
93245).
Trophic level (Ref.
69278): 2.6 ±0.1 se; based on diet studies.
Resilience (Ref.
120179): High, minimum population doubling time less than 15 months (K=0.37;).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref.
59153): Low to moderate vulnerability (31 of 100).
Nutrients (Ref.
124155): Calcium = 26.7 [10.6, 86.6] mg/100g; Iron = 0.652 [0.305, 1.653] mg/100g; Protein = 18.5 [16.2, 20.8] %; Omega3 = 0.181 [0.082, 0.373] g/100g; Selenium = 23.7 [10.1, 58.9] μg/100g; VitaminA = 31 [7, 140] μg/100g; Zinc = 0.845 [0.516, 1.429] mg/100g (wet weight);
