Teleostei (teleosts) >
Eupercaria/misc (Various families in series Eupercaria) >
Labridae (Wrasses) > Cheilininae
Etymology: Pteragogus: Greek, pteron = wing, fin + Greek, ago = to drive (Ref. 45335).
More on author: Randall.
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Marine; demersal. Tropical
Western Indian Ocean: Tanzania to Durban, Seychelles, and Comoro Islands. Absent from the Red Sea and not a migrant to the Mediterranean Sea (Ref. 93522).
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 15.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 4392)
Dorsal spines (total): 11; Dorsal soft rays (total): 8 - 9; Anal spines: 3; Anal soft rays: 8 - 9. Back flank and nape brown-red; ventral brown orange. Anal and ventral fin light with brown margin. Black blotch on opercle slightly lower than eye. Orange eye with dark pupil (Ref. 37421).
Inhabits quiet (Ref. 30573) seagrass beds and algal flats.
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
Oviparous, distinct pairing during breeding (Ref. 205).
Randall, J.E., 1986. Labridae. p. 683-706. In M.M. Smith and P.C. Heemstra (eds.) Smiths' sea fishes. Springer-Verlag, Berlin. (Ref. 4392)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2024-1)
Threat to humans
Harmless
Human uses
Fisheries: commercial; aquarium: commercial
Tools
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Internet sources
Estimates based on models
Preferred temperature (Ref.
123201): 24.6 - 29, mean 27.5 °C (based on 457 cells).
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref.
82804): PD
50 = 0.5010 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.01259 (0.00672 - 0.02357), b=2.92 (2.75 - 3.09), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this species & (Sub)family-body (Ref.
93245).
Trophic level (Ref.
69278): 3.5 ±0.4 se; based on size and trophs of closest relatives
Resilience (Ref.
120179): High, minimum population doubling time less than 15 months (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref.
59153): Low vulnerability (10 of 100).
Nutrients (Ref.
124155): Calcium = 250 [132, 507] mg/100g; Iron = 1.39 [0.71, 2.73] mg/100g; Protein = 17.7 [14.9, 19.7] %; Omega3 = 0.272 [0.157, 0.476] g/100g; Selenium = 40.5 [21.9, 78.9] μg/100g; VitaminA = 40.2 [12.1, 148.8] μg/100g; Zinc = 1.66 [1.17, 2.70] mg/100g (wet weight);