Teleostei (teleosts) >
Acanthuriformes (Surgeonfishes) >
Siganidae (Rabbitfishes)
Etymology: Siganus: Latin, siganus = a fish, rabbit fish; by the similarity of the nose (Ref. 45335).
More on author: Valenciennes.
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Marine; brackish; reef-associated; depth range 1 - 50 m (Ref. 28016), usually 1 - 12 m (Ref. 90102). Tropical; 30°N - 6°S, 19°E - 112°E
Indiant Ocean: from East Africa, Seychelles, Comoro Islands, Madagascar, Reunion, Mauritius and Rodriquez Island; East Andaman Sea off Thailand and Myanmar; Bali, Indonesia.
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 45.0 cm SL male/unsexed; (Ref. 1419); common length : 30.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 2871); max. reported age: 2.50 years (Ref. 42001)
Dorsal spines (total): 13 - 14; Dorsal soft rays (total): 10; Anal spines: 7; Anal soft rays: 9 - 10; Vertebrae: 23. Coloration highly variable; influenced by substrate's color and mood of the fish. Upper greenish to sandy brown, paler below. Color patterns extend to the fins. Spines slender, pungent and venomous. Preopercular angle 88°-98°; cheeks with few scales; midline of thorax without scales between pelvic ridges. Long flap of anterior nostril shortens with increasing age.
Body shape (shape guide): fusiform / normal; Cross section: compressed.
Inhabits inshore areas and inner reefs (Ref. 9710). Often occurs among seagrasses to browse on 'aufwuchs'. Forms schools. A food fish that is occasionally poisonous (Ref. 4537).
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
Woodland, D.J., 1990. Revision of the fish family Siganidae with descriptions of two new species and comments on distribution and biology. Indo-Pac. Fish. (19):136 p. (Ref. 1419)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2025-2)
Human uses
Fisheries: commercial
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