Tautoga onitis, Tautog : fisheries, gamefish, aquarium

You can sponsor this page

Tautoga onitis (Linnaeus, 1758)

Tautog
Add your observation in Fish Watcher
Native range | All suitable habitat | Point map | Year 2050
This map was computer-generated and has not yet been reviewed.
Tautoga onitis   AquaMaps   Data sources: GBIF OBIS
Upload your photos and videos
Pictures | Google image
Image of Tautoga onitis (Tautog)
Tautoga onitis
Picture by Flescher, D.

Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes(genus, species) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa

Teleostei (teleosts) > Eupercaria/misc (Various families in series Eupercaria) > Labridae (Wrasses)
Etymology: Tautoga: Plural of the word "taut", an Indian Brazil name translated by Roger William from f the Narragansett, "tautauog" = sheepshead.
More on author: Linnaeus.

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

Marine; brackish; reef-associated; depth range 1 - 75 m. Subtropical; 46°N - 31°N, 81°W - 58°W

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

Western Atlantic: slightly east of Halifax in Nova Scotia, Canada to South Carolina in USA; most abundant between Cape Cod and Delaware Bay.

Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: Lm 23.6, range 18 - 26.5 cm
Max length : 91.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 7251); max. published weight: 11.3 kg (Ref. 40637); max. reported age: 34 years (Ref. 6486)

Short description Morphology | Morphometrics

Dorsal spines (total): 16 - 17; Dorsal soft rays (total): 10; Anal spines: 3; Anal soft rays: 7 - 8. Distinguished from Tautogolabrus adspersus which occurs in the same area and further north, by its steep, rounded dorsal head profile; stouter body; scaled lower gill cover; and the more backward location of the pelvic fins.

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

Found close to shore on hard-bottom habitats, occasionally entering brackish water. Adult male territorial and active during the day to feed and rests in crevices at night. Prefers temperatures above 10°C. Spawning was noted in June-July in Canadian waters, but appears more protracted (April-July) in coastal waters of Virginia, USA. Feeds mainly on mussels, gastropods, other mollusks and crustaceans. This species has gained popularity as a prized food and sport fish (Ref. 6486, 4926, 41297). Investigation on the diel and seasonal activity patterns of the adult tautog in its southern range were conducted using ultrasonic telemetry (Ref. 41297).

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

Spawns in groups or in pairs. Pairing occurs between females and size-dominant males exhibiting strong territoriality and performing a protracted courtship (Ref. 6488). Gonochorism is confirmed for this species (Ref. 103751).

Main reference Upload your references | References | Coordinator : Westneat, Mark | Collaborators

Leim, A.H. and W.B. Scott, 1966. Fishes of the Atlantic coast of Canada. Bull. Fish. Res. Board Can. (155):485 p. (Ref. 4926)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435)

  Vulnerable (VU) (A2bd); Date assessed: 12 July 2008

CITES

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

  Harmless





Human uses

Fisheries: minor commercial; gamefish: yes; aquarium: public aquariums
FAO - Fisheries: landings; Publication: search | FishSource | Sea Around Us

More information

Age/Size
Growth
Length-weight
Length-length
Length-frequencies
Morphometrics
Morphology
Larvae
Larval dynamics
Recruitment
Abundance
BRUVS
References
Aquaculture
Aquaculture profile
Strains
Genetics
Electrophoreses
Heritability
Diseases
Processing
Nutrients
Mass conversion
Collaborators
Pictures
Stamps, Coins Misc.
Sounds
Ciguatera
Speed
Swim. type
Gill area
Otoliths
Brains
Vision

Tools

Special reports

Download XML

Internet sources

AFORO (otoliths) | Alien/Invasive Species database | Aquatic Commons | BHL | Cloffa | BOLDSystems | Websites from users | Check FishWatcher | CISTI | Catalog of Fishes: genus, species | DiscoverLife | ECOTOX | FAO - Fisheries: landings; Publication: search | Faunafri | Fishipedia | Fishtrace | GenBank: genome, nucleotide | GloBI | Google Books | Google Scholar | Google | IGFA World Record | MitoFish | Otolith Atlas of Taiwan Fishes | Public aquariums | 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): 5.3 - 22.8, mean 10.9 °C (based on 96 cells).
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82804):  PD50 = 1.0000   [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.01230 (0.00803 - 0.01884), b=3.05 (2.93 - 3.17), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this species & (Sub)family-body (Ref. 93245).
Trophic level (Ref. 69278):  3.3   ±0.47 se; based on food items.
Resilience (Ref. 120179):  Low, minimum population doubling time 4.5 - 14 years (K=0.09; tm=2-3; tmax=34).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref. 59153):  High to very high vulnerability (69 of 100).
Climate Vulnerability (Ref. 125649):  Moderate to high vulnerability (55 of 100).
Price category (Ref. 80766):   Very high.
Nutrients (Ref. 124155):  Calcium = 16.1 [7.1, 31.7] mg/100g; Iron = 0.447 [0.241, 0.886] mg/100g; Protein = 19.5 [16.6, 21.7] %; Omega3 = 0.193 [0.107, 0.343] g/100g; Selenium = 18.8 [9.2, 37.9] μg/100g; VitaminA = 39.3 [11.0, 166.7] μg/100g; Zinc = 0.912 [0.612, 1.593] mg/100g (wet weight);