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Tetraodontiformes (Puffers and filefishes) >
Balistidae (Triggerfishes)
Etymology: Melichthys: Greek, melas, melaina, melan, black + icthys yos, fish. On the other hand, in Smith et al.,1986: 878), 'body dark brown to black' in https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/266635#page/902/mode/1up.(P. Romero, pers.comm. 03/2022).
More on author: Bloch.
Entorno: milieu / zona climática / rango de profundidad / gama de distribución
Ecología
marino asociado a arrecife; rango de profundidad 0 - 75 m (Ref. 9710), usually 0 - 20 m (Ref. 40849). Tropical; 30°N - 29°S, 180°W - 180°E
Circumglobal. Uncommon in most areas but abundant around isolated oceanic islands (Ref. 9710).
Tamaño / Peso / Edad
Madurez: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 50.0 cm TL macho / no sexado; (Ref. 5217); common length : 30.0 cm TL macho / no sexado; (Ref. 3272)
Espinas dorsales (total) : 3; Radios blandos dorsales (total) : 30 - 34; Espinas anales: 0; Radios blandos anales: 28 - 30. This species is distinguished by the following characters: a deep groove in front of eye; 20-25 head scale rows from corner of mouth to lower end of gill opening; 57-66 body scale rows from upper end of gill opening to caudal fin base; presence of prominent longitudinal ridges following scale rows of posterior body; slightly rounded to double emarginate caudal fin; a thin white bar neat posterior margin of the caudal fin; black spots on scales forming lines (Ref. 90102).
Body shape (shape guide): short and / or deep; Cross section: compressed.
Inhabit clear seaward reefs. More common around oceanic islands (Ref. 9276). Found on inner and outer reef crests, usually near the slope or drop-off to deeper water, where in small but loose aggregations. Sometimes swim high above substrate feeding on zooplankton (Ref. 48637). May also be solitary (Ref. 90102). Benthopelagic (Ref. 58302). Diet consists primarily of calcareous algae and zooplankton (Ref. 1602); also feed on phytoplankton (Ref. 5213). At Fernando de Noronha Archipelago, southeast Atlantic, groups of about 100 individuals join groups of spinner dolphins to feed on feces and vomits of the cetaceans when they congregate in a shallow bay for rest and social interactions. The postures a dolphin adopts prior to defecating or vomiting are recognized, and the fish begin to converge to the dolphin shortly before the actual voiding. Offal feeding may be regarded as a simple behavioral shift from plankton feeding to drifting offal picking (Ref. 48727). Marketed fresh (Ref. 9770). Minimum depth reported taken from Ref. 128797.
Ciclo vital y comportamiento de apareamiento
Madurez | Reproducción | Puesta | Huevos | Fecundidad | Larva
Oviparous, distinct pairing during breeding (Ref. 205).
Matsuura, K., 2001. Balistidae. Triggerfishes. p. 3911-3928. In K.E. Carpenter and V. Niem (eds.) FAO species identification guide for fishery purposes. The living marine resources of the Western Central Pacific. Vol. 6. Bony fishes part 4 (Labridae to Latimeriidae), estuarine crocodiles. FAO, Rome. (Ref. 9770)
Situación en la Lista Roja de la UICN (Ref. 130435: Version 2025-2 (Global))
Amenaza para el ser humano
Harmless
Usos humanos
Pesquerías: escaso valor comercial; Acuario: Comercial
Herramientas
Informes especiales
Descargar XML
Fuentes de Internet
Estimaciones basadas en modelos
Índice de diversidad filogenética (Referencia 82804) |
PD50 = 0.6250 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high]. |
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Bayesian length-weight
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a=0.02692 (0.01290 - 0.05617), b=2.91 (2.73 - 3.09), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this (Sub)family-body shape (Ref. 93245). |
Nivel trófico (Referencia 69278) |
2.4 ±0.0 se; based on diet studies. |
Resiliencia (Referencia 120179) |
Medio, población duplicada en un tiempo mínimo de 1.4-4.4 años (Preliminary K or Fecundity.). |
Vulnerabilidad pesquera (Ref. 59153) |
Moderate vulnerability (39 of 100). 🛈 |
Categoría de precios (Ref. 80766) |
Medium.
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Nutrientes (Ref. 124155) |
Calcium = 22.1 [8.5, 59.3] mg/100g; Iron = 0.571 [0.293, 1.352] mg/100g; Protein = 18.7 [16.5, 20.9] %; Omega3 = 0.15 [0.08, 0.31] g/100g; Selenium = 21 [9, 49] μg/100g; VitaminA = 24 [5, 107] μg/100g; Zinc = 0.775 [0.488, 1.276] mg/100g (wet weight); |