Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Marine; reef-associated; non-migratory; depth range 1 - 60 m (Ref. 89972). Tropical; 30°N - 20°S
Indo-Pacific: Red Sea and East Africa (extending to Mossel Bay, South Africa, Ref. 5372) to the Hawaiian, Marquesan, and Ducie islands, north to southern Japan, south to Lord Howe and Rapa islands.
Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm 13.0  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 23.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 4859)
May be seen in a variety of habitats ranging from rich coral reefs (Ref. 58652) to weedy and rubble covered areas (Ref. 1602). Benthopelagic (Ref. 58302). Maybe found singly, in pairs, and in aggregations that roam over large distances in search of food. Feed mainly by tearing pieces from polychaetes, sea anemones, coral polyps, and algae (Ref. 1602). Oviparous (Ref. 205). Form pairs during breeding (Ref. 205).
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
Distinct pairing (Ref. 205). Monogamous mating is observed as both obligate and social (Ref. 52884).
Allen, G.R., 1985. Butterfly and angelfishes of the world. Vol. 2. 3rd edit. in English. Mergus Publishers, Melle, Germany. (Ref. 4858)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 123251)
CITES (Ref. 123416)
Fisheries: minor commercial; aquarium: commercial
Estimates based on models
Preferred temperature (Ref. 115969
): 25.5 - 29, mean 28 °C (based on 922 cells).
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82805
= 0.5000 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.02512 (0.01616 - 0.03904), b=2.98 (2.85 - 3.11), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this species & Genus-body shape (Ref. 93245
Trophic level (Ref. 69278
): 3.7 ±0.3 se; based on diet studies.
Generation time: 0.7 ( na - na) years. Estimated as median ln(3)/K based on 1 growth studies.
Resilience (Ref. 120179
): High, minimum population doubling time less than 15 months (K>1).
Vulnerability (Ref. 59153
): Low vulnerability (12 of 100) .