Siganus vermiculatus  (Valenciennes, 1835)

Vermiculated spinefoot
Add your observation in Fish Watcher
| Native range | All suitable habitat | PointMap | Year 2050 |
This map was computer-generated and has not yet been reviewed.
Siganus vermiculatus   AquaMaps   Data sources: GBIF OBIS
Upload your photos and videos
 Pictures | Videos     Google image
Image of Siganus vermiculatus (Vermiculated spinefoot)
Siganus vermiculatus
Picture by Randall, J.E.

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

Actinopterygii (ray-finned fishes) > Perciformes (Perch-likes) > Siganidae (Rabbitfishes)
Etymology: Siganus: Latin, siganus = a fish, rabbit fish; by the similarity of the nose (Ref. 45335).

Environment / Climate / Range Ecology

Marine; brackish; reef-associated; depth range 15 - 20 m (Ref. 48637).   Tropical; 19°C - 38°C (Ref. 1827); 30°N - 30°S

Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 45.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 1419); common length : 30.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 9813)

Short description Morphology | Morphometrics

Dorsal spines (total): 13; Dorsal soft rays (total): 10; Anal spines: 7; Anal soft rays: 9; Vertebrae: 13. Body bluish white; head brown to brownish or golden yellow with irregular blue lines. Preopercular angle 91°-102°; strong overlapping scales cover cheeks; midline of thorax scaled, not pelvic ridges. Anterior nostril with low flange, broadened slightly posteriorly. Spines stout, blunt or pungent, and venomous.

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

Indo-West Pacific: India, Sri Lanka, Andaman Islands, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Philippines, Belau [=Palau], Guam, New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Fiji, Vanuatu, ?New Caledonia, ?Western Australia, ?Pohnpei, Caroline Islands, ?Ebon Island and Marshall Islands.

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

Juveniles live among mangroves then move out to lagoon and coastal reefs as they mature. Forms schools. Feeds on algae growing on seagrasses, mangrove roots and rocks. Adults congregate inshore in groups of several hundreds to spawn in summer. Spawning is by pairs; sticky eggs laid on the bottom. Its very high quality flesh commands premium prices (Ref. 9813). Adults on coastal reefs, subject to strong currents (Ref. 48637). This species can tolerate very low salinities (2 ppt) and temperatures up to 38 C (Ref. 37816).

Main reference Upload your references | References | Coordinator : Woodland, David J. | Collaborators

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.

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 90363)

  Least Concern (LC) 

Threat to humans

  Venomous (Ref. 4537)




Human uses

Fisheries: commercial; aquaculture: likely future use; aquarium: commercial
FAO(Publication : search) | FisheriesWiki | Sea Around Us

More information

Countries
FAO areas
Ecosystems
Occurrences
Introductions
Stocks
Ecology
Diet
Food items
Food consumption
Ration
Common names
Synonyms
Metabolism
Predators
Ecotoxicology
Reproduction
Maturity
Spawning
Fecundity
Eggs
Egg development
Age/Size
Growth
Length-weight
Length-length
Length-frequencies
Morphometrics
Morphology
Larvae
Larval dynamics
Recruitment
Abundance
References
Aquaculture
Aquaculture profile
Strains
Genetics
Allele frequencies
Heritability
Diseases
Processing
Mass conversion
Collaborators
Pictures
Stamps, Coins
Sounds
Ciguatera
Speed
Swim. type
Gill area
Otoliths
Brains
Vision

Tools

E-book | Field guide | Identification keys | Length-frequency wizard | Life-history tool | Point map | Classification Tree | Catch-MSY |

Special reports

Check for Aquarium maintenance | Check for Species Fact Sheets | Check for Aquaculture Fact Sheets

Download XML

Summary page | Point data | Common names | Photos

Internet sources

BHL | Cloffa | Websites from users | Check FishWatcher | CISTI | Catalog of Fishes (gen., sp.) | DiscoverLife | Faunafri | Fishtrace | GenBank(genome, nucleotide) | GOBASE | Google Books | Google Scholar | Google | IGFA World Record | iSpecies | Public aquariums | PubMed | RFE Identification | Scirus | SeaLifeBase | Tree of Life | uBio | Wikipedia(Go, Search) | World Records Freshwater Fishing | Zoological Record

Estimates of some properties based on empirical models

Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82805):  PD50 = 0.5000   [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.01278 (-0.18800 - 0.21356), b=3.14 (3.03 - 3.24), based on LWR estimates for this family-BS (Ref. 93245).
Trophic Level (Ref. 69278):  2.0   ±0.00 se; Based on food items.
Resilience (Ref. 69278):  Medium, minimum population doubling time 1.4 - 4.4 years (K=0.3).
Vulnerability (Ref. 59153):  Low vulnerability (20 of 100) .
Price category (Ref. 80766):   High.