Yellow goatfish

Yellow goatfish
Not evaluated (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Perciformes
Family: Mullidae
Genus: Mulloidichthys
Species: M. martinicus
Binomial name
Mulloidichthys martinicus
(G. Cuvier, 1829)
Synonyms
  • Upeneus martinicus G. Cuvier, 1829
  • Mulloides martinicus (G. Cuvier, 1829)

The yellow goatfish (Mulloidichthys martinicus), also known as yellowsaddle, is a species of goatfish native to the Atlantic Ocean around the coasts of Africa and the Americas. This species can reach a length of 39.4 centimetres (15.5 in) TL, but most reach lengths only around 28 centimetres (11 in). They are of minor importance to local commercial fisheries, even though they have been reported to carry the ciguatera toxin.[1]

Habits

Yellow goatfish are benthic feeders, using a pair of long chemosensory barbels ("whiskers") protruding from their chins to rifle through the sediments in search of a meal. They usually feed on smaller fish, hunting in a school during the day, and alone at night.[2]

Distribution

The yellow goatfish can be found on reefs in the tropical waters in the Atlantic around the United States, in the Gulf of Mexico, the Caribbean Sea, and around Cape Verde.[1]

References

  1. 1 2 Froese, Rainer and Pauly, Daniel, eds. (2013). "Mulloidichthys martinicus" in FishBase. December 2013 version.
  2. "The Marine Center: Yellow Goatfish". The Marine Center. 1994–2009. Retrieved 25 November 2009.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Tuesday, March 29, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.