If Challenging Existing Classification |
Reasons Species Should be Reclassified: |
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If Requesting New Classification |
Research or Links to information on Species: |
http://fw.dpnr.gov.vi/fish/Docs/Fisheries%20Master%20Plan/Sections/Appendix1a.pdf
These fishes generally occur singly or in pairs. But adults may form planktonfeeding aggregations of up to 20 individuals, and occasionally clean other reef fishes which join the group, such as grunts, parrotfishes, and surgeonfishes (Allen 1985 in Froese and Pauly 2002). Maximum reported size is 17 cm TL (male) (Allen 1985 in Froese and Pauly 2002). Size at maturity is estimated as 10.6 cm TL; natural mortality rate, 1.53 (Froese and Pauly 2002). The smallest mature fish captured in a study conducted in Caribbean waters was 13 cm TL (male). Number of eggs per gram body weight ranged from 220 for a specimen of 13.9 cm TL weighing 52 g (total of 11,450 eggs), to 600 for a smaller specimen of 11.7 cm TL weighing 42 g (total of 25,200 eggs). A study collected in Jamaican waters from September 1969 to February 1973 reported that the greatest proportion of ripe fishes was collected in January-February, but more than 40% of the fishes were ripe in all months (Aiken 1975a). In the northeastern Caribbean, individuals in spawning condition have been observed in April (Erdman 1976). |