The vermiculated spinefoot (''Siganus vermiculatus''), also known as maze rabbitfish, scribbled spinefoot or vermiculate rabbitfish, 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– ...
. Like all rabbitfishes, it has venomous spines on the dorsal, anal, and pelvic fins. It is a reef associated fish species of the
Indo-West Pacific region. It is a common commercially important fish in many tropical countries.
Taxonomy
The vermiculated spinefoot was first formally
described in 1835 as ''Amphacanthus vermiculatus'' by the French
zoologist Achille Valenciennes
Achille Valenciennes (9 August 1794 – 13 April 1865) was a French zoologist.
Valenciennes was born in Paris, and studied under Georges Cuvier. His study of parasitic worms in humans made an important contribution to the study of parasitology. ...
with the
type locality
Type locality may refer to:
* Type locality (biology)
* Type locality (geology)
See also
* Local (disambiguation)
* Locality (disambiguation)
{{disambiguation ...
given as
New Guinea.
The
specific name Specific name may refer to:
* in Database management systems, a system-assigned name that is unique within a particular database
In taxonomy, either of these two meanings, each with its own set of rules:
* Specific name (botany), the two-part (bino ...
''vermiculatus'' refers to the vermiculated or maze pattern on the bodies of the living fish.
Description
The vermiculated spinefoot has a deep and laterally compressed body which has a depth which fits 1.9 to 2.2 times 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 ...
. The nape is bulging with a slight indentation above each eye. The deep, blunt snout also bulges. The front nostril has a flange which is slightly widened to its rear. There is a recumbent 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.
[ The caudal fin is emarginate.][ This species attains a maximum total length of , although is more typical.][ The body is covered in a grey and whitish complex maze-like or reticulate pattern with a patch of yellow on the head and spots on the caudal fin.]
Distribution and habitat
The vermiculated spinefoot is found from southern India and Sri Lanka eastwards into the western Pacific Ocean as far east as Palau and Guam, south to Vanuatu, Fiji and New Caledonia and Australia.[ It is found in shallow, coastal waters, especially estuaries. Both adults and juveniles are commonest shallow, sediment-laden waters in mangroves, following the tide in and out. Adults are occasionally encountered in clear water in the vicinity of reefs or above sandy substrates.][
]
Biology
The vermiculated spinefoot browses algae which is growing on seagrass, the roost of mangrove and on rocks. The adults gather in aggregations of several hundred individuals to spawn in the summer, the pawn in pairs laying eggs which adhere to the substrate.[ The lunar cycle governs spawning behaviour.][ 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, ...
.
Fisheries
The vermiculated spinefoot is a large fast growing species and is sold fresh in markets in India, Sri Lanka and Fiji where it commpans premium prices.[
]
References
Animaldiversity WebScience direct
External links
*
{{Taxonbar, from=Q2555491
Fish of Thailand
Siganidae
Fish described in 1835
Taxa named by Achille Valenciennes