Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Marine; brackish; demersal; depth range 1 - 36 m (Ref. 13608). Tropical; 16°N - 14°S, 87°W - 34°W
Western Central Atlantic: Honduras to Salvador (Bahia) in Brazil.
Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm 20.0 range ? - ? cm
Max length : 57.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 3273); common length : 35.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 3273); max. published weight: 2.3 kg (Ref. 5217)
Dorsal spines (total): 3; Dorsal soft rays (total): 28 - 30; Anal spines: 0; Anal soft rays: 25 - 27. Supraorbital and interorbital region smooth, without any filament; scaled area on head extending to middle of eye and opercle spine; 9 discrete pores on inner face of pectoral fin; body brown, with black spots and saddle-shaped blotches (Ref. 13608).
Mainly in brackish water (Ref. 5217). Found on sandy-muddy bottoms in shallow warm water. Not so active, lingers over the substrate disguised. Feeds on small gastropod mollusks, crustaceans like crabs (Calappidae, Portunidae, Xanthidae, etc.), shrimps (Penaeidae, Palaemonidae, Alphaeidae, etc.) and fishes. Females are mature at around 20 cm length, males at 25 cm. Spawns 400 to 500 eggs, with a size of 4 to 5 mm (Ref. 35237). Marketed fresh.
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
Collette, B.B., 1978. Batrachoididae. In W. Fischer (ed.) FAO species identification sheets for fishery purposes. West Atlantic (Fishing Area 31), Volume 1. FAO, Rome. (Ref. 3273)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2024-1)
Threat to humans
Harmless
Human uses
Fisheries: commercial; aquarium: commercial
Tools
Special reports
Download XML
Internet sources
Estimates based on models
Preferred temperature (Ref.
123201): 27.1 - 28.3, mean 27.6 °C (based on 300 cells).
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref.
82804): PD
50 = 0.5020 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00759 (0.00479 - 0.01202), b=3.16 (3.03 - 3.29), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this species & (Sub)family-body (Ref.
93245).
Trophic level (Ref.
69278): 3.7 ±0.62 se; based on food items.
Resilience (Ref.
120179): Low, minimum population doubling time 4.5 - 14 years (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref.
59153): Moderate vulnerability (43 of 100).
Nutrients (Ref.
124155): Calcium = 102 [53, 175] mg/100g; Iron = 0.946 [0.603, 1.455] mg/100g; Protein = 18 [17, 19] %; Omega3 = 0.26 [0.15, 0.46] g/100g; Selenium = 48 [27, 94] μg/100g; VitaminA = 22 [9, 54] μg/100g; Zinc = 1.29 [0.98, 1.75] mg/100g (wet weight);
