Actinopterygii (ray-finned fishes) > Perciformes
(Perch-likes) > Siganidae
Etymology: Siganus: Latin, siganus = a fish, rabbit fish; by the similarity of the nose (Ref. 45335).
Environment / Climate / Range
Marine; reef-associated; depth range 1 - 40 m (Ref. 1602). Tropical; 30°N - 25°S
Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ?, range 24 - ? cm
Max length : 40.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 9710); common length : 30.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 9813)
soft rays: 9;
Vertebrae: 13. Color pattern changes with age; iris silver with 8-10 orange spots. Juveniles with a deep brown patch straddling the lateral line; the spot becoming obscured with increase in size. Stout, venomous spines not so pungent. Preopercular angle 87°-105°. Strong scales fully cover the cheeks. Midline of thorax scaled but not pelvic ridges.
Western Pacific: fringe of the eastern sector of the Indian Ocean, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Australia, Indonesia, Singapore, Gulf of Thailand, South China Sea, Philippines, Taiwan, Ryukyu Islands, Ogasawara Islands, Mariana Islands, Palau (Belau), Caroline Islands, Kapingamarangi Islands, Nauru and Niue. The species is replaced by its sibling, Siganus stellatus, in the Andaman Sea and regions which are located further west.
Occurs in clear lagoons and seaward reefs. Juveniles live in schools of up to about 50 fish with pairing commencing as small as 15 cm, but fish may still be schooling at 22 cm SL; older fish live in pairs. Feeds on benthic algae (Ref. 9813). Adults on deep coastal reefs, juveniles in shallow estuaries (Ref. 48637).
Woodland, D.J., 1990. Revision of the fish family Siganidae with descriptions of two new species and comments on distribution and biology. Indo-Pac. Fish. (19):136 p. (Ref. 1419)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 90363)
CITES (Ref. 94142)
Estimates of some properties based on models
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82805
= 0.5000 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.01230 (0.00606 - 0.02498), b=3.17 (2.98 - 3.36), based on LWR estimates for species & Subfamily-body shape (Ref. 93245
Trophic Level (Ref. 69278
): 2.8 ±0.1 se; Based on diet studies.
Resilience (Ref. 69278
Vulnerability (Ref. 59153
): Low to moderate vulnerability (26 of 100) .