Actinopterygii (ray-finned fishes) >
Tetraodontiformes (Puffers and filefishes) >
Diodontidae (Porcupinefishes (burrfishes))
Etymology: Chilomycterus: Greek, cheilos = lip + Greek, mykter, -eros = nose (Ref. 45335).
Environment / Climate / Range
Ecology
Marine; reef-associated; depth range ? - 11 m (Ref. 9710). Tropical
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 27.9 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 40637); max. published weight: 630 g (Ref. 4699)
No spines wholly on caudal peduncle. Supraocular tentacles absent or much smaller than eyes. 5 to 7 large dark blotches on back and sides, with many, approximately parallel to obliquely intersecting dark lines distributed over light background colour. No small, dark spots either on body or fin (Ref 53034).
Western Atlantic: Nova Scotia (Canada), Maine (USA), Bahamas, and northern Gulf of Mexico to Brazil. Uncommon or absent from most of West Indies.
Very common in seagrass beds in bays and coastal lagoons. Also found on shallow coastal reefs (Ref. 9710). Has been traded as an aquarium fish at Ceará, Brazil (Ref. 49392).
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.
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 90363)
Threat to humans
Harmless
Human uses
Fisheries: of no interest; gamefish: yes; aquarium: commercial
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Estimates of some properties based on empirical models
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref.
82805): PD
50 = 0.5313 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00000 (0.00000 - 0.00000), b=0.00 (0.00 - 0.00), based on (Ref.
93245).
Trophic Level (Ref.
69278): 3.3 ±0.5 se; Based on diet studies.
Resilience (Ref.
69278): Medium, minimum population doubling time 1.4 - 4.4 years (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
Vulnerability (Ref.
59153): Low vulnerability (15 of 100) .