Priacanthus arenatus
Bigeye
Collection Details
Specimens
Photos
There are no photos available for this taxon yet.
Records
Taxonomic Hierarchy
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned Fishes)
Perciformes (Perciformes, Also Called the Acanthopteri)
Priacanthidae (Bigeyes)
Priacanthus
Priacanthus arenatus (Bigeye)
Description
This species account was compiled from
Composite (multiple sources) (McEachran, J.D. and J.D. Fechhelm. Fishes of the Gulf of Mexico. University of Texas Press, Austin.)
and processed using AI-assisted text extraction.
It may contain errors in spelling, punctuation, or formatting.
When citing, please reference the original source rather than this page.
Learn more about our species accounts.
Characters
Asymmetrical anterior profile, scales on posterior margin of preoperculum, lack of elliptical spots on unpaired fins, small upper jaw teeth (70-110), lower jaw teeth (25-45), vomerine teeth (25-65), palatine teeth (25-40), finely serrated lachrymal and second infraorbital bones, smooth premaxilla with occasional serrations, gill rakers on first arch (28-32), measurements (% SL): head length (28%-35%), head depth (28%-35%), snout length (8%-10%), orbit diameter (12%-17%), interorbital width (7%-9%), lower jaw length (17%-21%), body depth (32%-40%), caudal peduncle depth (7%-12%), pectoral fin with 17 or 19 rays, dorsal fin with 10 spines and 13-15 rays, anal fin with 14 or 16 rays, scales in horizontal series (83-91), lateral line scales (71-84)
Uniformly bright red or pink, or bright red or pink with silvery blotches, dark red spots above lateral line, unpaired fins lightly dusted with dark melanophores, pelvic fin blackish distally, pelagic juveniles silver or dusky with three rows of dark spots on spinous section of dorsal fin
Distribution
North Carolina and Bermuda to northern Argentina, including the northern and southern Gulf of Mexico
northern and southern Gulf of Mexico
Habitat Associations
Tropical to sub-tropical Atlantic Ocean, associated with reefs, between 20 and 250 m
reefs
Biology
Maximum known size is 450 mm SL
Found on coral reefs and rocky bottoms (Ref. 3800). Forms small aggregations near the bottom (Ref. 10786). A nocturnal feeder (Ref. 5521), feeds mainly on small fishes, crustaceans and polychaetes (Ref. 3800). Most of its prey are larvae. Flesh considered excellent quality; marketed fresh (Ref. 5217).
Reproductive mode: dioecism; fertilization: external; nonguarders (open water/substratum egg scatterers); parental care: none.
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC), assessed 2013-01-29. Resilience: High (K=0.7).
Commercial or Environmental Importance
Fisheries: minor commercial; gamefish; aquarium: commercial.
References
Hildebrand and Schroeder 1928
Gunter and Knapp 1951
Caldwell 1962b
Böhlke and Chaplin 1968
Randall 1968a, 1996
Hastings et al. 1976
Hoese and Moore 1977, 1998
Matsuura 1983b
Starnes 1988, 2002
Boschung 1992
Schaldach et al. 1997
Smith 1997
Smith-Vaniz et al. 1999
Randall, J.E. (1967) Food habits of reef fishes of the West Indies. Stud. Trop. Oceanogr. Miami 5:665-847.
Starnes, W.C. (1988) Revision, phylogeny and biogeographic comments on the circumtropical marine percoid fish family Priacanthidae. Bull. Mar. Sci. 43(2):117-203.
Uyeno, T., K. Matsuura and E. Fujii (eds.) (1983) Fishes trawled off Suriname and French Guiana. Japan Marine Fishery Resource Research Center, Tokyo, Japan. 519 p.
Bowman, R.E., C.E. Stillwell, W.L. Michaels and M.D. Grosslein (2000) Food of northwest Atlantic fishes and two common species of squid. NOAA Tech. Memo. NMFS-NE 155, 138 p.
IGFA (2001) Database of IGFA angling records until 2001. IGFA, Fort Lauderdale, USA.
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.
Comments On Priacanthus arenatus