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Sargocentron melanospilos (Bleeker, 1858)

Blackblotch squirrelfish
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Sargocentron melanospilos   AquaMaps   Data sources: GBIF OBIS
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Image of Sargocentron melanospilos (Blackblotch squirrelfish)
Sargocentron melanospilos
Picture by Winterbottom, R.

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

Teleostei (teleosts) > Holocentriformes (Squirrelfishes, soldierfishes) > Holocentridae (Squirrelfishes, soldierfishes) > Holocentrinae
Etymology: Sargocentron: Greek, sargos = sargus + Greek, kentron = sting (Ref. 45335).
More on author: Bleeker.

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

Marine; reef-associated; depth range 5 - 90 m (Ref. 27370). Tropical; 30°N - 24°S

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

Indo-Pacific: Red Sea (Ref. 12541), Zanzibar (Tanzania), Aldabra and Seychelles to the Marshall Islands and American Samoa, north to Taiwan, southern Japan and the Ogasawara Islands, south to the southern Great Barrier Reef and the Chesterfield Islands. Replaced by Sargocentron marisrubri in the Red Sea (Ref. 37816).

Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 25.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 90102)

Short description Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics

Dorsal spines (total): 11; Dorsal soft rays (total): 12 - 14; Anal spines: 4; Anal soft rays: 9 - 10. Body with red and white stripes following the scale rows; black blotch at base of soft dorsal, anal, and caudal fins, but may be faint or absent in caudal and anal fins (Ref. 4201, 48635). Uniformly small ctenii on posterior margin of scales of body. Inferior mouth due to hypertrophy of median part of upper lip (front of upper lip thickened and slightly protruding) (Ref. 3079). Five oblique scale rows on cheek; body depth 2.7-2.95 in SL; head length (HL) 2.6-2.9 in SL; snout length 3.6-4.4 in HL; interorbital width 4.4-5.25 in HL; slender caudal peduncle, depth 3.9-4.65 in HL; maxilla extending from below center of the eye to a vertical at rear edge of pupil, upper jaw length 2.25-2.4 in HL; premaxillary groove ending above or slightly posterior to a vertical at the front edge of orbit; anterior end of nasal bone ending with a small spine; surface or medial edge of nasal bone spineless; nasal fossa with 1 to 4 spinules on posterior edge; preopercular spine 3.45-3.65 in HL; longest dorsal spine 1.95-2.4 in HL; 3rd anal spine 1.5-1.75 in HL (Ref. 27370).

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

A relatively uncommon inhabitant of rocky reefs and coral-rich areas. Spine of preopercle venomous. Usually seen solitary , but sometimes forms schools in deep water in oceanic locations (Ref. 48635). Found in seaward slopes in 5-90 m (Ref. 90102).

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

Main reference Upload your references | References | Coordinator : Randall, John E. | Collaborators

Randall, J.E., 1998. Revision of the Indo-Pacific squirrelfishes (Beryciformes: Holocentridae: Holocentrinae) of the genus Sargocentron, with descriptions of four new species. Indo-Pac. Fish. (27):105 p. (Ref. 27370)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2024-2)

  Least Concern (LC) ; Date assessed: 04 March 2015

CITES

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

  Venomous (Ref. 2334)





Human uses

FAO - Publication: search | FishSource | Sea Around Us

More information

Trophic ecology
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Diet composition
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Ecology
Ecology
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Length-weight rel.
Length-length rel.
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Maturity/Gills rel.
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Internet sources

AFORO (otoliths) | Aquatic Commons | BHL | Cloffa | BOLDSystems | Websites from users | Check FishWatcher | CISTI | Catalog of Fishes: genus, species | DiscoverLife | 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): 24.8 - 28.9, mean 27.6 °C (based on 630 cells).
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82804):  PD50 = 0.5000   [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.01660 (0.00788 - 0.03495), b=2.97 (2.80 - 3.14), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this Genus-body shape (Ref. 93245).
Trophic level (Ref. 69278):  4.0   ±0.66 se; based on food items.
Resilience (Ref. 120179):  High, minimum population doubling time less than 15 months (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref. 59153):  Low vulnerability (15 of 100).
Nutrients (Ref. 124155):  Calcium = 51.8 [20.0, 215.6] mg/100g; Iron = 0.497 [0.196, 1.509] mg/100g; Protein = 18.8 [17.6, 19.9] %; Omega3 = 0.167 [0.073, 0.378] g/100g; Selenium = 36.5 [21.0, 70.9] μg/100g; VitaminA = 78.1 [30.5, 218.1] μg/100g; Zinc = 1.62 [0.67, 3.04] mg/100g (wet weight);