Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes (gen., sp.) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa

Actinopterygii (ray-finned fishes) > Tetraodontiformes (Puffers and filefishes) > Monacanthidae (Filefishes)
Etymology: Monacanthus: Greek, monos = one + Greek, akantha = thorn (Ref. 45335).

Environment / Climate / Range Ecology

Marine; reef-associated; depth range 1 - 50 m (Ref. 3790). Subtropical, preferred ?; 52°N - 34°S, 98°W - 34°W

Distribution Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Point map | Introductions | Faunafri

Western Atlantic: Newfoundland (Canada), Bermuda, and northern Gulf of Mexico to Argentina, including the Caribbean (Ref. 3790). Eastern Atlantic.

Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: L_m ? range ? - ? cm
Max length : 20.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 7251); common length : 10.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 3790)

Short description Morphology | Morphometrics

Dorsal spines (total): 2; Dorsal soft rays (total): 29-37; Anal spines: 0; Anal soft rays: 28 - 36. Snout prominently projecting but not very elongate; first dorsal spine originating above posterior part of eye; adult males with two pairs of enlarged recurved spines on each side of caudal peduncle; spines of females only slightly larger than other scale spinules of caudal peduncle (Ref. 13442).

Occurs in shallow water down to 50 m depth, over sandy and rocky bottoms, but more commonly in grass beds (Ref. 3790). Often seen moving head down among seagrass blades (Ref. 9710). The young are often associated with floating Sargassum (Ref. 3720). Feeds on plants and algae, and also on small crustaceans (Ref. 3720). Rarely consumed (Ref. 3790).

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae

Distinct pairing (Ref. 205).

Main reference Upload your references | References | Coordinator : Hutchins, Barry | Collaborators

Robins, C.R. and G.C. Ray, 1986. A field guide to Atlantic coast fishes of North America. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, U.S.A. 354 p. (Ref. 7251)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 115185)

Least Concern (LC)

CITES (Ref. 94142)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

Reports of ciguatera poisoning (Ref. 30303)

Human uses

Fisheries: subsistence fisheries; aquarium: commercial

FAO(Publication : search) | FisheriesWiki | Sea Around Us

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Estimates of some properties based on models

Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82805): PD₅₀ = 0.6250 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].

Bayesian length-weight: a=0.01445 (0.00943 - 0.02215), b=2.85 (2.72 - 2.98), in cm Total Length, based on LWR estimates for this species & (Sub)family-body (Ref. 93245).

Trophic Level (Ref. 69278): 2.7 ±0.2 se; Based on diet studies.

Resilience (Ref. 69278): High, minimum population doubling time less than 15 months (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).

Vulnerability (Ref. 59153): Low to moderate vulnerability (27 of 100) .

Price category (Ref. 80766): Unknown.

Monacanthus ciliatus (Mitchill, 1818)