Actinopterygii (ray-finned fishes) > Tetraodontiformes
(Puffers and filefishes) > Ostraciidae
Etymology: Ostracion: Greek, ostrakon = shell (Ref. 45335). More on author: Shaw.
Environment / Climate / Range
Marine; reef-associated; depth range 1 - 30 m (Ref. 9710). Tropical; 32°N - 23°S
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 25.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 3141)
Indo-Pacific and Eastern Pacific: East Africa to the Mexico, north to southern Japan and the Hawaiian Islands, south to New Caledonia and the Tuamoto Islands. The subspecies Ostracion meleagris camurum is found in the Hawaiian Islands and Ostracion meleagris clippertonense in the Eastern Pacific. Species replaced by Ostracion cyanurus in Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.
Inhabits clear lagoon and seaward reefs from the lower surge zone to at least 30 meters (Ref. 37816, 48637). Juveniles among rocky boulders, often with long spined urchins, and adults on reef crests and slopes. Males swim about more openly than females that are often in close vicinity to the males (Ref. 48637). Solitary. Feeds on didemnid tunicates, polychaetes, sponges, mollusks, copepods, and algae (Ref. 37816).
Myers, R.F., 1991. Micronesian reef fishes. Second Ed. Coral Graphics, Barrigada, Guam. 298 p.
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 90363)
Threat to humans
Fisheries: subsistence fisheries; aquarium: commercial
ReferencesAquacultureAquaculture profileStrainsGeneticsAllele frequenciesHeritabilityDiseasesProcessingMass conversion
Estimates of some properties based on empirical models
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82805
= 0.5039 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.03720 (0.01840 - 0.07521), b=2.81 (2.63 - 2.99), based on LWR estimates for this Subfamily-BS (Ref. 93245
Trophic Level (Ref. 69278
): 2.9 ±0.1 se; Based on diet studies.
Resilience (Ref. 69278
): High, minimum population doubling time less than 15 months (Fec assumed to be > 10,000).
Vulnerability (Ref. 59153
): Low vulnerability (13 of 100) .