Lactophrys bicaudalis
Spotted Trunkfish
Collection Details
Specimens
Photos
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Records
Taxonomic Hierarchy
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned Fishes)
Tetraodontiformes (Pufferfishes and Allies)
Ostraciidae (Boxfishes)
Lactophrys
Lactophrys bicaudalis (Spotted Trunkfish)
Description
This species account was compiled from
FishBase (Froese, R. and D. Pauly. Editors. 2025. FishBase. World Wide Web electronic publication. www.fishbase.org, version 04/2025.)
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Characters
Body shape: short and / or deep. Whitish with numerous small black spots on carapace, caudal peduncle and caudal fin; lips whitish; bases of dorsal, anal and pectoral fins blackish; large adults with black spots missing from three small areas in a diagonal row anteriorly on body at level of eye, appearing as three white spots (Ref. 13442).
Distribution
Western Atlantic: Florida (USA), Bahamas, and southern Gulf of Mexico to Brazil. Eastern Atlantic: Ascension Island (Ref. 3696).
Habitat Associations
Marine. reef-associated. depth range 3-50 m. Found in: coral reefs.
Biology
Found in clear water around coral reefs. Sometimes under ledges and near small holes (Ref. 9710). Feeds on a variety of small bottom invertebrates such as mollusks, crustaceans, starfishes, sea urchins, sea cucumbers, sessile tunicates, sea grasses (Ref. 3696), algae, crabs and brittle stars (Ref. 13442). Toxins released when excited kills other fishes (Ref. 5521). Probably marketed fresh locally (Ref. 3696).
Max length: 48.0 cm TL; common length: 20.0 cm TL.
Reproductive mode: dioecism; fertilization: external; nonguarders (open water/substratum egg scatterers); parental care: none.
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC), assessed 2011-06-07. Resilience: High (Fec assumed to be > 10,000).
Commercial or Environmental Importance
Fisheries: commercial; aquarium: commercial.
References
Randall, J.E. (1967) Food habits of reef fishes of the West Indies. Stud. Trop. Oceanogr. Miami 5:665-847.
Breder, C.M. and D.E. Rosen (1966) Modes of reproduction in fishes. T.F.H. Publications, Neptune City, New Jersey. 941 p.
Robins, C.R. and G.C. Ray (1986) A field guide to Atlantic coast fishes of North America. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, U.S.A. 354 p.
Duron, M. and J.C. Quéro (1990) Ostraciontidae. p. 1067-1068. In J.C. Quero, J.C. Hureau, C. Karrer, A. Post and L. Saldanha (eds.) Check-list of the fishes of the eastern tropical Atlantic (CLOFETA). JNICT, Lisbon; SEI, Paris; and UNESCO, Paris. Vol. 2.
Randall, J.E. (1996) Caribbean reef fishes. Third Edition - revised and enlarged. T.F.H. Publications, Inc. Ltd., Hong Kong. 3nd ed. 368 p.
Patzner, R.A. (2008) Reproductive strategies of fish. pp. 311-350. In Rocha, M.J., A. Arukwe and B.G. Kapoor (eds). Fish reproduction: cytology, biology and ecology. Science Publisher, Inc. Oxford. 631 p.
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