Spotted Rabbitfish, Siganus punctatus (Bloch & Schneider 1801)


Other Names: Gold-spot Spinefoot, Goldspotted Rabbitfish, Gold-spotted Rabbitfish, Goldspotted Spinefoot, Gold-spotted Spinefoot, Punctated Spinefoot, Spotted Rabbit-fish, Spotted Spinefoot, Yellow-spotted Spinefoot

Gold-spotted Rabbitfish, Siganus punctatus, at Peleliu, Koror Island, Palau. Source: Mark Rosenstein / iNaturalist. License: CC BY Attribution-Noncommercial-ShareAlike

Summary:
A greyish rabbitfish with a pattern of close-set dark-edged brown spots covering head, body and fins, and sometimes a pale saddle on the caudal-fin base and a large ocellated spot behind the upper edge of the gill cover. Juveniles have larger and fewer spots.

Cite this page as:
Dianne J. Bray, Siganus punctatus in Fishes of Australia, accessed 29 Mar 2024, https://fishesofaustralia.net.au/home/species/1885

Spotted Rabbitfish, Siganus punctatus (Bloch & Schneider 1801)

More Info


Distribution

Rottnest Island, WA, to North West Solitary Island, NSW, including Rowley Shoals and Scott Reef, WA, Ashmore Reef, Timor Sea; also Coringa-Herald Cays and Lihou Reef, Coral Sea and Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Indian Ocean. Occurs elsewhere in the tropical, West-central Pacific.

Inhabits coral areas in clear lagoons and on seaward reefs, usually in pairs as subadults and adults; juveniles in schools of up to 50 individuals.. 

Features

Dorsal fin XIII, 10; Anal fin VII, 9; Pectoral fin 16-18; Scale rows above lateral line 23-27; Vertebrae 13. 
Stout, venomous spines not so pungent. Preopercular angle 87°-105°. Strong scales fully cover the cheeks. Midline of thorax scaled but not pelvic ridges.

Species Citation

Amphacanthus punctatus Schneider & Forster, 1801, Systema Ichthyol.: 210. Type locality: Nomuka Island, Tonga (lectotype).

Author

Dianne J. Bray

Spotted Rabbitfish, Siganus punctatus (Bloch & Schneider 1801)

References


Allen, G.R. 1997. Marine Fishes of Tropical Australia and South-east Asia. Perth : Western Australian Museum 292 pp. 106 pls.

Allen, G.R. & Erdmann, M.V. 2012. Reef fishes of the East Indies. Perth : Tropical Reef Research 3 vols, 1260 pp.

Allen, G.R. & Smith-Vaniz, W.F. 1994. Fishes of Cocos (Keeling) Islands. Atoll Research Bulletin 412: 1-21.

Allen, G.R. & Swainston, R. 1988. The Marine Fishes of North-Western Australia. A field guide for anglers and divers. Perth, WA : Western Australian Museum vi 201 pp., 70 pls.

Blaber, S.J.M., Brewer, D.T. & Salini, J.P. 1992. A checklist of the fishes of Groote Eylandt, north-western Gulf of Carpentaria. Report 218. Hobart : CSIRO Marine Laboratories 14 pp.

Grant, E.M. 1991. Fishes of Australia. Brisbane : EM Grant Pty Ltd 480 pp.

Hutchins, J.B. 2003. Checklist of marine fishes of the Dampier Archipelago, Western Australia. pp. 453-478 in Wells, F.E., Walker, D.I., & Jones, D.S. (eds). Proceedings of the Eleventh International Marine Biological Workshop: The Marine Flora and Fauna of Dampier, Western Australia. Perth : Western Australian Museum.

Hutchins, J.B., Williams, D.McB., Newman, S.J., Cappo, M. & Speare, P. 1995. New records of fishes for the Rowley Shoals and Scott/Seringapatam Reefs, off north-western Australia. Records of the Western Australian Museum 17: 119-123.

Johannes, R.E. & J.W. MacFarlane.1991. Traditional fishing in the Torres Strait Islands. CSIRO Division of Fisheries, Tasmania, Australia. 268 pp.

Johnson, J.W. & Gill, A.C. 2005. Reef and shore fishes of Sweers Island, Gulf of Carpentaria. Gulf of Carpentaria Scientific Study Report. Geography Monograph Series. Brisbane: Royal Geographic Society of Queensland. pp. 239-260.

Kuiter, R.H. 1992. Tropical Reef-Fishes of the Western Pacific, Indonesia and Adjacent Waters. Jakarta : PT Gramedia Pustaka Utama 314 pp. pls.


Kuiter, R.H. 1996. Guide to Sea Fishes of Australia. A comprehensive reference for divers and fishermen. Sydney, NSW, Australia : New Holland Publishers xvii, 434 pp.

Kuiter, R.H. & Debelius, H. 2001. Surgeonfishes, Rabbitfishes and Their Relatives. A comprehensive guide to Acanthuroidei. Chorleywood, U.K. : TMC Publishing 208 pp.

Marshall, T.C. 1964. Fishes of the Great Barrier Reef and Coastal Waters of Queensland. Sydney : Angus & Robertson 566 pp. 136 pls.

Oxley, W.G., Ayling, A.M., Cheal, A.J. & Thompson, A.A. 2003. Marine surveys undertaken in the Coringa-Herald National Nature Reserve, March-April 2003. Townsville : Australian Institute of Marine Science 59 pp.

Oxley, W.G., Emslie, M., Muir, P. & Thompson, A.A. 2004. Marine surveys undertaken in the Lihou Reef National Nature Reserve, March 2004. Townsville : Australian Institute of Marine Science i-vii, 1-67 pp.

Randall, J.E. 2005. Reef and shore fishes of the South Pacific. New Caledonia to Tahiti and the Pitcairn Islands. University of Hawaii Press, Honolulu, Hawaii. 720 pp.

Randall, J.E., Allen, G.R. & Steene, R. 1990. Fishes of the Great Barrier Reef and Coral Sea. Bathurst : Crawford House Press 507 pp. figs.

Randall, J.E., Allen, G.R. & Steene, R. 1997. Fishes of the Great Barrier Reef and Coral Sea. Bathurst : Crawford House Press 557 pp. figs.

Russell, B.C. 1983. Annotated checklist of the coral reef fishes in the Capricorn-Bunker group, Great Barrier Reef, Australia. Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority. Special Publication Series 1: 1-184 figs 1-2

Russell, B.C., Larson, H.K., Hutchins, J.B. & Allen, G.R. 2005. Reef fishes of the Sahul Shelf. The Beagle, Records of the Museums and Art Galleries of the Northern Territory Supplement 1 2005: 83-105.

Sainsbury, K.J., Kailola, P.J. & Leyland, G.G. 1985. Continental Shelf Fishes of Northern and North-Western Australia. Canberra : Fisheries Information Service 375 pp. figs & pls.

Schneider, J.G. & Forster, J.R. in Bloch, M.E. & Schneider, J.G. 1801. Systema Ichthyologiae Iconibus ex Illustratum.. Berlin. 584 pp.

Woodland, D.J. 1990. Revision of the fish family Siganidae with descriptions of two new species and comments on distribution and biology. Indo-Pacific Fishes 19: 1-136 figs 1-23, 11 pls

Woodland, D.J. 2001. Siganidae. pp. 3627-3650 in Carpenter, K.E. & Niem, T.H. (eds). The Living Marine Resources of the Western Central Pacific. FAO Species Identification Guide for Fisheries Purposes. Rome : FAO Vol. 6 pp. 3381-4218.

Quick Facts


CAAB Code:37438003

Danger:Venomous spines

Depth:1-40 m

Habitat:Reef associated

Max Size:40 cm TL

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CAAB distribution map