Red Sea goatfish (Parupeneus forsskali)

Scientific name: Parupeneus forsskali Fourmanoir & Gu?z?, 1976

Red Sea goatfish (Parupeneus forsskali)

The Red Sea goatfish (Parupeneus forsskali) is a brackish-water fish of the family Mullidae. Native range: Indian Ocean, Red Sea into the Gulf of Aden and recorded from Socotra. Suez canal migrant and now established in the eastern Mediterranean.

Biology

Dorsal spines (total): 8; Dorsal soft rays (total): 9; Anal soft rays: 7. Diagnosis: Pectoral rays 14-17 (usually 16). Gill rakers 7-9 + 23-26 (total 30-34). Body relatively elongate, the depth 3.65-4.2 in SL; head length (HL) 2.9-3.25 in SL; snout length 1.7-1.9 in HL; barbel length 1.4-1.5 in HL; longest dorsal spine 1.5-1.7 in HL; penultimate dorsal ray 1.15-1.25 in length of last dorsal ray; pectoral-fin length 1.4-1.65 in HL; pelvic-fin length 1.4-1.6 in HL. A broad black stripe is present from side of upper lip through eye along upper side of body, ending beneath posterior part of second dorsal fin; body above stripe grayish green, the scale edges yellow; body below stripe white, the scale edges narrowly reddish; caudal peduncle yellow dorsally with an irregular roundish black spot, mostly above lateral line; caudal fin yellow; second dorsal and anal fins with narrow blue and yellow stripes; peritoneum pale.

Source: FishBase, licensed CC BY-NC 4.0.

Species facts

Scientific name
Parupeneus forsskali
Family
Mullidae (Goatfishes)
Order
Perciformes (Perch-like fish)
Class
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned fishes)
Maximum length
28.0
Common length
25.0
Environment
Marine; brackish; reef-associated
Climate
Subtropical
Distribution
Indian Ocean: Red Sea into the Gulf of Aden and recorded from Socotra. Suez canal migrant and now established in the eastern Mediterranean.
Conservation status (IUCN)
Not Evaluated
Threat to humans
Harmless
Uses
Fisheries: minor commercial; aquarium: commercial
Resilience
High, minimum population doubling time less than 15 months (K>1)

Sources

Taxonomy, distribution and biology data: FishBase (Froese, R. and D. Pauly, eds.), licensed CC BY-NC 4.0.

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