- Classification
- ACTINOPTERYGII
- PERCIFORMES
- SIGANIDAE
- Siganus
- corallinus
Coral Rabbitfish, Siganus corallinus (Valenciennes 1835)
A Coral Rabbitfish, Siganus corallinus, at Lizard Island, Great Barrier Reef, Queensland. Source: Graham Edgar / Reef Life Survey. License: CC by Attribution
An orange-yellow rabbitfish, with small blue ocelli on the head, chest and sides, and a dark smudge-like mark around the eye. Small juveniles have narrow blue vertical lines on the sides that fragment into ocelli with growth.
A sting from the venomous spines of a Coral Rabbitfish may be very painful.
Coral Rabbitfish, Siganus corallinus (Valenciennes 1835)
More Info
Distribution |
Known in Australia from offshore reefs of north Western Australia (Rowley Shoals and Scott Reef) and Ashmore Reef in the Timor Sea, and the northern Great Barrier Reef to the Capricorn Group, Queensland; also Christmas Island in the eastern Indian Ocean. Adults are usually seen in pairs in coral rich areas, while small schools of juveniles often inhabit seagrass beds and branching corals on shallow reef areas. |
Feeding |
Herbivore - feeds on benthic algae. Small juveniles browse on epiphytic growth on seagrasses, while adults consume coarser macroalgae. |
Species Citation |
Amphacanthus corallinus Valenciennes 1835, Histoire Naturelle des Poissons 10: 139. Type locality: Seychelles and Java. |
Author |
Bray, D.J. 2020 |
Resources |
Coral Rabbitfish, Siganus corallinus (Valenciennes 1835)
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.
Bellwood, D.R., Goatley, C.H.R., Khan, J.A. & Tebbett, S.B. 2016. Site fidelity and homing in juvenile rabbitfishes (Siganidae). Coral Reefs 35(4): 1151-1155. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00338-016-1466-4
Carpenter, K.E., Lawrence, A. & Myers, R. 2016. Siganus corallinus (errata version published in 2017). The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2016: e.T69689242A115469109. http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T69689242A69690334.en. Downloaded on 04 September 2019.
Grant, E.M. 1975. Guide to Fishes. Brisbane : Queensland Government, Co-ordinator General’s Department 640 pp.
Hobbs, J.-P.A., Ayling, A.M., Choat, J.H., Gilligan, J.J., McDonald, C.A., Neilson, J. & Newman, S.J. 2010. New records of marine fishes illustrate the biogeographic importance of Christmas Island, Indian Ocean. Zootaxa 2422: 63–68.
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.
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. & Debelius, H. 2001. Surgeonfishes, Rabbitfishes and Their Relatives. A comprehensive guide to Acanthuroidei. Chorleywood, U.K. : TMC Publishing 208 pp.
Mirbach, C.E. & Brandl, S.J. 2016. Ontogenetic shifts in the social behaviour of pairing coral reef rabbitfishes (Siganidae). Marine Biology Research 12(8): 874-880, https://doi.org/10.1080/17451000.2016.1203952
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.
Russ, G. 1984. Distribution and abundance of herbivorous grazing fishes in the central Great Barrier Reef. I. Levels of variability across the entire continental shelf. Marine Ecology Progress Series 20: 23-34.
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.
Valenciennes, A. in Cuvier, G.L. & Valenciennes, A. 1835. Histoire Naturelle des Poissons. Paris : Levrault Vol. 10 482 pp. pls 280-306.
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.