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Balistes capriscus Gmelin, 1789

Grey triggerfish
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Balistes capriscus   AquaMaps   Data sources: GBIF OBIS
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Image of Balistes capriscus (Grey triggerfish)
Balistes capriscus
Picture by Patzner, R.

Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes(genus, species) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa

Teleostei (teleosts) > Tetraodontiformes (Puffers and filefishes) > Balistidae (Triggerfishes)
Etymology: Balistes: Latin, balista, -ae = crossbowman. In Greek, ballo = to throw (Ref. 45335);  capriscus: Specific name 'capriscus' meaning a small goat; probably referring to its 'face' which looks like a small goat (to be confirmed)...
More on author: Gmelin.

Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range Ecology

Marine; reef-associated; depth range 0 - 100 m (Ref. 7348), usually 0 - 55 m (Ref. 55172). Tropical; 58°N - 37°S, 98°W - 36°E

Distribution Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Point map | Introductions | Faunafri

Western and Eastern Atlantic:

Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: Lm 17.0, range 13 - 29.7 cm
Max length : 66.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 127374); common length : 44.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 47377); max. published weight: 6.2 kg (Ref. 40637); max. reported age: 15 years (Ref. 107826)

Short description Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics

Dorsal spines (total): 3; Dorsal soft rays (total): 26 - 29; Anal spines: 0; Anal soft rays: 23 - 26. Tall, with a small mouth and plate like scales (Ref. 35388). Three faint irregular broad dark bars on body; a narrow pale transverse band on chin; small light blue spots on upper half of body and median fins, and irregular short lines ventrally (Ref. 13442).

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

Inhabits bays, harbors, lagoons, and seaward reefs (Ref. 9710). May drift with young at surface among Sargassum (Ref. 9710). Usually solitary or in small groups (Ref. 9710). Feeds on benthic invertebrates like mollusks and crustaceans (Ref. 4727). Oviparous (Ref. 205). Consumed mostly fresh, smoked, and dried salted. The flesh is of excellent quality. Because it is resistant to capture, it proliferates and competes for food with other species (Ref. 5377).

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturities | Reproduction | Spawnings | Egg(s) | Fecundities | Larvae

Adults guard the embryos nested in sand which hatched in about two days (Ref. 9778).

Main reference Upload your references | References | Coordinator : Matsuura, Keiichi | Collaborators

Smith-Vaniz, W.F., B.B. Collette and B.E. Luckhurst, 1999. Fishes of Bermuda: history, zoogeography, annotated checklist, and identification keys. American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists Special Publication No. 4. 424 p. (Ref. 35505)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435)

  Vulnerable (VU) (A2bd); Date assessed: 06 June 2011

CITES

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

  Reports of ciguatera poisoning (Ref. 30911)





Human uses

Fisheries: commercial; gamefish: yes; aquarium: public aquariums
FAO - Fisheries: landings; Publication: search | FishSource | Sea Around Us

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Trophic ecology
Food items
Diet compositions
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Ecology
Ecology
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Max. ages / sizes
Length-weight rel.
Length-length rel.
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Anatomy
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Brains
Otoliths
Physiology
Body compositions
Nutrients
Oxygen consumptions
Swimming type
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Visual pigment(s)
Fish sounds
Diseases / Parasites
Toxicities (LC50s)
Genetics
Genetics
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Estimates based on models

Preferred temperature (Ref. 123201): 9 - 26.2, mean 17.8 °C (based on 1432 cells).
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82804):  PD50 = 0.5078   [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.02089 (0.01769 - 0.02468), b=2.90 (2.85 - 2.95), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this species (Ref. 93245).
Trophic level (Ref. 69278):  4.1   ±0.2 se; based on diet studies.
Generation time: 4.0 (2.6 - 4.8) years. Estimated as median ln(3)/K based on 20 growth studies.
Resilience (Ref. 120179):  Medium, minimum population doubling time 1.4 - 4.4 years (K=0.18-0.43; tm=1).
Prior r = 0.37, 95% CL = 0.25 - 0.56, Based on 1 full stock assessment.
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref. 59153):  Moderate to high vulnerability (46 of 100).
Climate Vulnerability (Ref. 125649):  Low to moderate vulnerability (32 of 100).
Price category (Ref. 80766):   High.
Nutrients (Ref. 124155):  Calcium = 17.4 [6.5, 68.9] mg/100g; Iron = 0.507 [0.242, 1.275] mg/100g; Protein = 19.7 [18.6, 20.8] %; Omega3 = 0.212 [0.146, 0.316] g/100g; Selenium = 21.2 [8.9, 47.8] μg/100g; VitaminA = 25 [6, 111] μg/100g; Zinc = 0.5 [0.3, 0.8] mg/100g (wet weight); based on nutrient studies.