Actinopterygii (ray-finned fishes) > Perciformes
(Perch-likes) > Sphyraenidae
Etymology: Sphyraena: Greek, sphyraina, -es = the name of a fish (Ref. 45335). More on author: Poey.
Environment / Climate / Range
Marine; reef-associated; depth range 1 - 65 m (Ref. 9626). Tropical; 32°N - 38°S
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 61.0 cm FL male/unsexed; (Ref. 40637); common length : 36.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 3819); max. published weight: 1.1 kg (Ref. 40637)
Western Atlantic: Bermuda, Florida (USA), and the Bahamas to Uruguay.
Inhabits coastal waters. Found in rocky or coral reefs (Ref. 9710). More abundant over muddy bottoms. Juveniles are encountered in seagrass beds (Ref. 9626). Often occurs in large schools, sometimes near the surface (Ref. 9626). Marketed fresh and frozen.
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
Robins, C.R. and G.C. Ray, 1986. A field guide to Atlantic coast fishes of North America. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, U.S.A. 354 p. (Ref. 7251)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 96402)
CITES (Ref. 94142)
Threat to humans
Reports of ciguatera poisoning (Ref. 30911)
Fisheries: minor commercial; gamefish: yes
ReferencesAquacultureAquaculture profileStrainsGeneticsAllele frequenciesHeritabilityDiseasesProcessingMass conversion
Estimates of some properties based on models
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82805
= 0.5000 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00617 (0.00313 - 0.01213), b=2.92 (2.75 - 3.09), based on LWR estimates for species & Genus-body shape (Ref. 93245
Trophic Level (Ref. 69278
): 4.2 ±0.3 se; Based on diet studies.
Resilience (Ref. 69278
): Medium, minimum population doubling time 1.4 - 4.4 years (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
Vulnerability (Ref. 59153
): Moderate to high vulnerability (48 of 100) .