Classification / Names
Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes(genus, species) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa
Teleostei (teleosts) >
Mulliformes (Goatfishes) >
Mullidae (Goatfishes)
Etymology: Upeneus: Greek, ypene, -es = upper lip (Ref. 45335); alama: Name 'alama' in honor of the late Mr. Ulysses Banga Alama from College of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences, University of the Philippines Visayas, Miagao, Iloilo, Philippines for his contributions to marine ichthyology. A noun in apposition.
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Marine; demersal; depth range ? - 22 m (Ref. 138759). Tropical
Western Central Pacific: Philippines.
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 12.5 cm SL male/unsexed; (Ref. 138759)
Short description
Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics
Dorsal spines (total): 8; Dorsal soft rays (total): 9. This species is distinguished from its congeners by the following set of characters: dorsal fins VIII + 9; pectoral fins 16; gill rakers 8-9 upper + 20-22 lower = 28-31 total; lateral-line scales 33; body moderately deep; measurements as % SL: body depth at anal-fin origin 25-28; maximum head depth 26; head depth through eye 22; suborbital depth 14; head length 34; snout length 13; postorbital length 14; upper-jaw length 15; barbel length 28-30; barbel width 1.6-1.7; caudal-peduncle length 21-22; second dorsal-fin base length 14; caudal-fin length 28-32; length of anal-fin base 9.8-9.9; anal-fin height 15-17; pelvic-fin length 20; pectoral-fin length 28; pectoral-fin width 5.5-5.9; first dorsal-fin height 24-25; first two or three long dorsal-fin spines protruding; second dorsal-fin height 17; caudal fin without bars; first dorsal fin with black tip, retained in preservative; preserved fish with silvery-whitish head, pale brown body ventrally and dark brown dorsally; fins except for first dorsal-fin tip pale brown, partly hyaline; and pale, long barbels (Ref. 138759).
Body shape (shape guide): fusiform / normal.
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
Uiblein, F., H. Motomura, P.R. Møller, M.H. Sabaj Pérez, S. Boonphienphol, T.A. Hoang and K. Parkinson, 2025. Two new goatfish species of the Upeneus sulphureus-species group (Mullidae), with a redescription of U. sulphureus Cuvier, 1829 and a review of barbel length in the genus. Ichthyol. Herpetol. 113(3):453-486. (Ref. 138759)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2025-2 (Global))
Threat to humans
Harmless
Human uses
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Estimates based on models
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82804) |
PD50 = 0.5000 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high]. |
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Bayesian length-weight
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a=0.00955 (0.00454 - 0.02011), b=3.09 (2.92 - 3.26), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this Genus-body shape (Ref. 93245). |
Trophic level (Ref. 69278) |
3.4 ±0.4 se; based on size and trophs of closest relatives |
Resilience (Ref. 120179) |
High, minimum population doubling time less than 15 months (Preliminary K or Fecundity.). |
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref. 59153) |
Low vulnerability (10 of 100). 🛈 |