''Siganus trispilos'', the threeblotched rabbitfish, threespot rabbitfish, threeblotch spinefoot or threespot spinefoot is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a rabbitfish belonging to the family

Siganidae Rabbitfishes or spinefoots are perciform fishes in the family Siganidae. The 29 species are in a single genus, ''Siganus''. In some now obsolete classifications, the species having prominent face stripes—colloquially called foxfaces– ...

. It is endemic to the eastern Indian Ocean off northwestern Western Australia.

Taxonomy

''Siganus trispilos'' was first formally described in 1977 by the

ichthyologist Ichthyology is the branch of zoology devoted to the study of fish, including bony fish ( Osteichthyes), cartilaginous fish (Chondrichthyes), and jawless fish (Agnatha). According to FishBase, 33,400 species of fish had been described as of Octobe ...

David J. Woodland David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...

and

Gerald R. Allen Gerald Robert "Gerry" Allen (born March 26, 1942 in Los Angeles, California) is an American-born Australian ichthyologist. His career began in 1963, when he spent a semester at the University of Hawaii, where he also received a PhD in marine zo ...

with the type locality given as off Tantabiddi Creek at the

North West Cape North West Cape is a peninsula in the north-west of Western Australia. Cape Range runs down the spine of the peninsula and Ningaloo Reef runs along the western edge. It is in the Gascoyne region and includes the town of Exmouth. History In 1618, ...

in Western Australia. The specific name ''trispilos'' is a compound of ''tri'' meaning "three" and ''spilos'' which means "mark" or "spot", a reference to the three large spots on the upper body.

Description

''Siganus trispilos'' has a laterally compressed deep body, its depth fitting roughly twice into its

standard length Fish measurement is the measuring of individual fish and various parts of their anatomies. These data are used in many areas of ichthyology, including taxonomy and fisheries biology. Overall length * Standard length (SL) is the length of a fish m ...

with a deeply forked caudal fin. The forward nostril opening is a tube which expands to the rear of the nostril into a wide flap. There is a procumbent spine to the front of the dorsal fin. Like all rabbitfishes, the dorsal fin has 13 spines and 10 soft rays while the

anal fin Fins are distinctive anatomical features composed of bony spines or rays protruding from the body of a fish. They are covered with skin and joined together either in a webbed fashion, as seen in most bony fish, or similar to a flipper, as se ...

has 7 spines and 9 soft rays. The fin spines hold venom glands. This species attains a maximum total length of . The overall colour is vivid yellow with three large dark brown blotches on the upper flanks, tiny bluish ocelli dot the head, upper flanks and loweset surface of the body with an oblique, ill-defined brown stripe running through the eye.

Distribution and habitat

''Siganus trispilos'' is endemic to the waters of the eastern Indian Ocean off northwestern Western Australia. It has been recorded from the waters from the Ningaloo Reef to the Corneliesse Shoal, which is northwest of Port Hedland. It is found in areas rich in hard corals, particularly being found in ''

Acropora ''Acropora'' is a genus of small polyp stony coral in the phylum Cnidaria. Some of its species are known as table coral, elkhorn coral, and staghorn coral. Over 149 species are described. ''Acropora'' species are some of the major reef corals r ...

'' corals.

Biology

''Siganus trispilos'' lives as pairs among the coral, where they browse on upright seaweeds. If disturbed the pairs will dart into the coral for shelter. This species produces venom in the spines of its fins. In a study of the venom of a congener it was found that rabbitfish venom was similar to the venom of

stonefishes Synanceiinae is a subfamily of venomous ray-finned fishes, waspfishes, which is classified as part of the family Scorpaenidae, the scorpionfishes and their relatives. These fishes are found in the Indo-Pacific oceans. They are primarily marine, ...

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q925679 Siganidae Fish described in 1977 Taxa named by Gerald R. Allen Taxa named by David J. Woodland