Philippines country information

Common names: Anito, Balibot, Hito
Occurrence: native
Salinity: brackish
Abundance: | Ref:
Importance: commercial | Ref: Rau, N. and A. Rau, 1980
Aquaculture: | Ref:
Regulations: | Ref:
Uses: no uses
Comments: Known in Calamianes Islands, northern Palawan (Ref. 48613), San Juan, Batangas (Ref. 107854), Calatagan, Batangas (Ref. 107852), Nasugbu (Ref. 107853), Badian, Cebu (Ref. 58652), Tubbataha Reefs (Ref. 53416), Lanuza Bay (Ref. 104756), and Bongo Island, Moro Gulf (Ref. 106380). Recorded from the Visayan Sea (Ref. 110387) and Leyte Gulf (Ref. 68980). Museum: Western Calatagan, Batangas, UPZM 5276 (Ref. 6956). In range Ref. 1602.
National Checklist:
Country Information: httpss://www.cia.gov/library/publications/resources/the-world-factbook/geos/rp.html
National Fisheries Authority:
Occurrences: Occurrences Point map
Main Ref: De la Paz, R.M., N. Aragones and D. Agulto, 1988
National Database:

Classification / Names

Actinopterygii (ray-finned fishes) > Siluriformes (Catfish) > Plotosidae (Eeltail catfishes)
Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes (gen., sp.) | ITIS | CoL

Common names from other countries

Stripped catfish, Striped catfish, Striped sea catfish, ... more

Main reference

Taylor, W.R. and J.R. Gomon. 1986. (Ref. 3879)
References | Biblio | Coordinator | Collaborators

Size / Weight / Age

Max length : 32.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 9710); common length : 25.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 3478); max. reported age: 7 years (Ref. 240)

Length at first maturity
L_m 14.0 range ? - ? cm

Environment

Marine; brackish; reef-associated; amphidromous (Ref. 51243); depth range 1 - 60 m (Ref. 37816)

Climate / Range

Tropical, preferred ?; 38°N - 35°S, 20°E - 169°W

Distribution

Indo-Pacific: Red Sea and East Africa to Samoa, north to southern Japan, southern Korea, and the Ogasawara Islands, south to Australia and Lord Howe Island. Palau and Yap in Micronesia (Ref. 1602). Sometimes enters freshwaters of East Africa (Lake Malawi) and Madagascar (Ref. 3879).
Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Introductions

Short description

Dorsal spines (total): 1; Dorsal soft rays (total): 69-115; Anal spines: 0; Anal soft rays: 58 - 82. This species has the dorsal and anal fins continuous with caudal fin; with 4 pairs of mouth barbels; and a single highly venomous serrate spine at the beginning of the first dorsal and each of the pectoral fins (Ref. 1602).

Coastal benthic (Ref. 68964). The only catfish found in coral reefs. Also found in estuaries, tide pools and open coasts. Juveniles form dense ball-shaped schools of about 100 fish; adults are solitary or occur in smaller groups of around 20 and are known to hide under ledges during the day (Ref. 1602, 5503, 12693, 37816, 48635). Adults search and stir the sand incessantly for crustaceans, mollusks, worms, and sometimes fish (Ref. 5213). Oviparous, with demersal eggs and planktonic larvae (Ref. 205). The highly venomous serrate spine of the first dorsal and each of the pectoral fins are dangerous, and even fatal in rare cases (Ref. 1602).

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 115185)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

Venomous (Ref. 4690)

Human uses

Fisheries: commercial; aquarium: commercial

More information

Countries
FAO areas
Ecosystems
Occurrences
Introductions
Stocks
Ecology
Diet
Food items
Food consumption
Ration

Common names
Synonyms
Metabolism
Predators
Ecotoxicology
Reproduction
Maturity
Spawning
Fecundity
Eggs
Egg development

Age/Size
Growth
Length-weight
Length-length
Length-frequencies
Morphometrics
Morphology
Larvae
Larval dynamics
Recruitment
Abundance

References
Aquaculture
Aquaculture profile
Strains
Genetics
Allele frequencies
Heritability
Diseases
Processing
Mass conversion

Collaborators
Pictures
Stamps, Coins
Sounds
Ciguatera
Speed
Swim. type
Gill area
Otoliths
Brains
Vision

Tools

Special reports

Check for Aquarium maintenance | Check for Species Fact Sheets | Check for Aquaculture Fact Sheets

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Summary page | Point data | Common names | Photos

Internet sources

Estimates of some properties based on models

Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82805)
PD₅₀ = 0.5020 many relatives (e.g. carps) 0.5 - 2.0 few relatives (e.g. lungfishes)

Trophic Level (Ref. 69278)
3.6 ±0.3 se; Based on diet studies.

Resilience (Ref. 69278)
Medium, minimum population doubling time 1.4 - 4.4 years (K=0.44-0.45; tm=1-3; tmax=7)

Vulnerability (Ref. 59153)
Low to moderate vulnerability (28 of 100)

Price category (Ref. 80766)
Low

Plotosus lineatus (Thunberg, 1787)