Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Marine; freshwater; brackish; demersal. Tropical; 13°N - 11°S, 77°W - 35°W
Western Atlantic: Caribbean and Atlantic draining rivers and estuaries from Colombia to Brazil.
Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm 36.6 range ? - 44.7 cm
Max length : 100.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 3265); common length : 50.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 3265); max. published weight: 9.0 kg (Ref. 5217); max. reported age: 4 years (Ref. 51629)
Dorsal spines (total): 1. The head is more or less flattened, the nostril nearly rounded, mouth inferior. There are three pairs of barbels, 1 pair of maxillary barbel and 2 pairs of mandibular barbels.
Inhabits mainly brackish estuaries and lagoons. Occurs also in freshwaters (Ref. 58022). Found on shallow muddy bottoms (Ref. 5217). Feeds on fish and shrimps. Two annual cycles of slower growth occur during the dry seasons (March and August to November). Life span is three to four years. Sexually mature at 1.5 to 2 years of age. Reproduction takes place from November to April. Consumed as food (Ref. 35381). Marketed fresh. The skull is sold throughout the world as crucifix.
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
Pairing involved in reproduction. Mouth brooding may be employed (Ref. 205).
Taylor, W.R. and N.A. Menezes, 1978. Ariidae. In W. Fischer (ed.) FAO species identification sheets for fishery purposes. West Atlantic (Fishing Area 31). volume 1. [pag. var.]. FAO, Rome. (Ref. 3265)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2024-1)
Threat to humans
Traumatogenic (Ref. 36613)
Human uses
Fisheries: commercial
Tools
Special reports
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Internet sources
Estimates based on models
Preferred temperature (Ref.
123201): 26.9 - 27.8, mean 27.4 °C (based on 66 cells).
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref.
82804): PD
50 = 0.5039 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00617 (0.00377 - 0.01008), b=3.17 (3.02 - 3.32), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this species & (Sub)family-body (Ref.
93245).
Trophic level (Ref.
69278): 4.4 ±0.7 se; based on diet studies.
Resilience (Ref.
120179): High, minimum population doubling time less than 15 months (tm=1.5; tmax=3.5; K=0.5).
Prior r = 0.98, 95% CL = 0.65 - 1.47, Based on 3 data-limited stock assessments.
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref.
59153): High vulnerability (60 of 100).
Nutrients (Ref.
124155): Calcium = 98.3 [51.2, 205.4] mg/100g; Iron = 1.09 [0.68, 1.92] mg/100g; Protein = 17.3 [15.6, 19.0] %; Omega3 = 0.169 [0.095, 0.304] g/100g; Selenium = 68.5 [33.7, 141.9] μg/100g; VitaminA = 16.1 [6.8, 40.8] μg/100g; Zinc = 0.811 [0.533, 1.257] mg/100g (wet weight);
