Aluterus scriptus , also known as proboscis sandpaper , is a species of fish in the Monacanthidae family in the Tetraodontiformes order. Aluterus comes from the Greek and means not free or individual, referring to the shape of his pelvis.
Summary
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- 1 Morphology
- 2 Coloring
- 3 Food
- 4 predators
- 5 He lives
- 6 Geographic distribution
- 7 sources
Morphology
First spine long, slender and erectile. Body elongated and highly compressed. long snout Small mouth and up. Dorsal rays (43 to 49). Anal rays (46 to 52). Pectoral rays (13 to 15). Caudal fin longer than the snout and round. Dorsal and ventral profiles of the head very concave. Caudal peduncle higher than long.
Adult males can reach 110 centimeters in total length and 2,500 g in weight. Its common length is 55 centimeters.
Coloration
Olive -brown to gray, with irregular blue spots in short lines and small black spots . Pelagic juveniles are brown with dark spots.
Feeding
They feed on marine algae and freshwater algae , hydrozoans, gorgonians, anemones and tunicas.
predators
In Barbados it is preyed upon by dolphinfish (Coryphaena hippurus) and in the United States by Thunnus thynnus. They are also victims of fishing despite being harmful to man.
Habitat
It is found in lagoons and coral reefs . It is a fish of subtropical climate. In their young stage they tend to inhabit open sea areas and when they become adults it is common to find them on deep coastal slopes or reefs located 20 meters deep.
Geographical distribution
It is found in tropical regions of all oceans. In the Western Atlantic it occurs in the regions of Nova Scotia, Canada, north of the Gulf of Mexico and Brazil ; in the Eastern Atlantic it is found in Rocas de São Paulo, Cape Verde, Ascension Island, São Tomé Island and South Africa; in the Pacific it is found in the south of Japan, New Caledonia, Easter Island and the south of the Great Barrier Reef and in the Eastern Pacific from the Gulf of California to Colombia.