Issue
This species is synonym of Kyphosus vaigiensis (Quoy & Gaimard, 1825) according to Knudsen et al. (2013: Ref. 95491). The species page will be removed if proven to be not valid; please send references.
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Marine; reef-associated; depth range 1 - 15 m (Ref. 95687). Subtropical; 42°N - 34°S, 98°W - 23°E
Western Atlantic: Cape Cod, Massachusetts (USA) to Brazil. Also found in Argentina (Ref. 86336). Eastern Atlantic: Madeira Island (Ref. 74541), São Tiago Island (Cape Verde) and Angola (Ref. 7373); Sao Tome Island (Ref. 30488).
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 90.0 cm SL male/unsexed; (Ref. 6547); common length : 45.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 3725); max. published weight: 3.9 kg (Ref. 40637)
Dorsal spines (total): 11; Dorsal soft rays (total): 13 - 15; Anal spines: 3; Anal soft rays: 12 - 13. grey with longitudinal brassy stripes on body and 2 brassy horizontal bands on head. Opercular membrane slightly pigmented. Each jaw with a regular row of close-set, strong, incisor-like, round-tipped teeth of a peculiar hockey-stick shape, their bases set horizontally, resembling a radially striated bony plate inside mouth (Ref 52729).
Inhabits shallow waters, especially over rocky bottoms in coral reef areas; also among floating Sargassum weeds (Ref. 3725). Feeds on algae including much Sargassum (Ref. 5521). Marketed fresh (Ref. 3725).
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturities | Reproduction | Spawnings | Egg(s) | Fecundities | Larvae
Robins, C.R. and G.C. Ray, 1986. A field guide to Atlantic coast fishes of North America. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, U.S.A. 354 p. (Ref. 7251)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435)
Threat to humans
Harmless
Human uses
Fisheries: minor commercial; gamefish: yes
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Estimates based on models
Preferred temperature (Ref.
123201): 23.1 - 28.1, mean 27.2 °C (based on 980 cells).
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref.
82804): PD
50 = 0.5000 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.01585 (0.00753 - 0.03337), b=3.02 (2.83 - 3.21), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this species & (Sub)family-body (Ref.
93245).
Trophic level (Ref.
69278): 2.0 ±0.0 se; based on diet studies.
Resilience (Ref.
120179): Low, minimum population doubling time 4.5 - 14 years (Assuming tm>4).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref.
59153): High to very high vulnerability (66 of 100).
Nutrients (Ref.
124155): Calcium = 22.2 [7.9, 36.8] mg/100g; Iron = 0.517 [0.274, 0.887] mg/100g; Protein = 19.3 [18.1, 20.6] %; Omega3 = 0.129 [0.067, 0.243] g/100g; Selenium = 16.3 [6.9, 38.1] μg/100g; VitaminA = 29.4 [7.0, 115.5] μg/100g; Zinc = 0.995 [0.647, 1.519] mg/100g (wet weight);