Aluterus monoceros, Unicorn leatherjacket filefish : fisheries

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Aluterus monoceros (Linnaeus, 1758)

Unicorn leatherjacket filefish
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Aluterus monoceros   AquaMaps   Data sources: GBIF OBIS
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Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes(genus, species) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa

Teleostei (teleosts) > Tetraodontiformes (Puffers and filefishes) > Monacanthidae (Filefishes)
Etymology: Aluterus: Name from Greek meaning not free or detached, referring to the pelvis that does not form a spiny project (as it does in triggerfish) (R. Chandler, pers. Comm. 10/2014)..
More on author: Linnaeus.

Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range Ecology

Marine; reef-associated; depth range 1 - 80 m (Ref. 90102). Subtropical; 43°N - 39°S, 180°W - 180°E

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

Circumtropical. Western Atlantic: Massachusetts, USA to Argentina (Ref. 36453). Eastern Atlantic: west coast of tropical Africa (Ref. 3592). Eastern Pacific: Guatemala to Chile (Ref. 9068); probably in Mexico (Ref. 9318). Western Indian Ocean: Mozambique and South Africa (Ref. 4421). Recently recorded from Reunion (Ref. 53568).

Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 76.2 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 26340); common length : 40.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 3467); max. published weight: 2.7 kg (Ref. 40637)

Short description Morphology | Morphometrics

Dorsal spines (total): 2; Dorsal soft rays (total): 45-52; Anal spines: 0; Anal soft rays: 47 - 53. Rudimentary pelvic spine disappears in large specimen (Ref. 36453). Snout convex in adults (Ref. 1602). Sandy to grey with small brown spots above; soft dorsal and anal fins pale yellowish to brownish; caudal membrane blackish brown (Ref. 4421).

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

Occasionally in shallow water by steep drop-offs. Solitary or in pairs, occasionally in groups of five or six, at less than 10 m depth. Juveniles are pelagic, seen under floating objects (Ref. 9318, 48637). Benthopelagic (Ref. 58302). Adults and juveniles are rarely seen near reefs. Juveniles often with large jellies and these may bring them close to reefs and adults may nest on sandflats adjacent to reefs in deep water. At other times, the adults may form large schools under weed-rafts that usually form during the wet season (Ref. 48637). Feed on benthic organisms (Ref. 30573).

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

Harmelin-Vivien, M.L. and J.-C. Quéro, 1990. Monacanthidae. p. 1061-1066. In J.C. Quero, J.C. Hureau, C. Karrer, A. Post and L. Saldanha (eds.) Check-list of the fishes of the eastern tropical Atlantic (CLOFETA). JNICT, Lisbon; SEI, Paris; and UNESCO, Paris. Vol. 2. (Ref. 3592)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435)

  Least Concern (LC) ; Date assessed: 27 February 2014

CITES

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

  Reports of ciguatera poisoning (Ref. 30911)





Human uses

Fisheries: commercial
FAO - Publication: search | FishSource | Sea Around Us

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AFORO (otoliths) | Alien/Invasive Species database | Aquatic Commons | BHL | Cloffa | BOLDSystems | Websites from users | Check FishWatcher | CISTI | Catalog of Fishes: genus, species | DiscoverLife | DORIS | ECOTOX | FAO - Publication: search | Faunafri | Fishipedia | Fishtrace | GenBank: genome, nucleotide | GloBI | Google Books | Google Scholar | Google | IGFA World Record | MitoFish | National databases | Otolith Atlas of Taiwan Fishes | PubMed | Reef Life Survey | Socotra Atlas | Tree of Life | Wikipedia: Go, Search | World Records Freshwater Fishing | Zoological Record

Estimates based on models

Preferred temperature (Ref. 123201): 22.8 - 29, mean 27.6 °C (based on 1868 cells).
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82804):  PD50 = 0.5625   [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.01905 (0.01186 - 0.03061), b=2.89 (2.75 - 3.03), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this species & (Sub)family-body (Ref. 93245).
Trophic level (Ref. 69278):  3.8   ±0.0 se; based on diet studies.
Generation time: 5.0 ( na - na) years. Estimated as median ln(3)/K based on 1 growth studies.
Resilience (Ref. 120179):  Medium, minimum population doubling time 1.4 - 4.4 years (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref. 59153):  Moderate to high vulnerability (48 of 100).
Price category (Ref. 80766):   Unknown.
Nutrients (Ref. 124155):  Calcium = 13.9 [5.6, 53.9] mg/100g; Iron = 0.487 [0.214, 1.238] mg/100g; Protein = 19.3 [17.1, 21.4] %; Omega3 = 0.154 [0.071, 0.304] g/100g; Selenium = 21.9 [8.3, 50.9] μg/100g; VitaminA = 23.4 [6.0, 98.0] μg/100g; Zinc = 0.522 [0.321, 0.882] mg/100g (wet weight);