Actinopterygii (ray-finned fishes) > Scorpaeniformes
(Scorpionfishes and flatheads) > Scorpaenidae
(Scorpionfishes or rockfishes) > Caracanthinae
Etymology: Caracanthus: Greek, kara = face + Greek, akantha = thorn (Ref. 45335). More on author: Gray.
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Marine; reef-associated; depth range 1 - 15 m (Ref. 86942). Tropical; 32°N - 24°S
Indo-Pacific: East Africa to the Tuamoto Islands, north to southern Japan and the Ogasawara Islands, south to the Great Barrier Reef.
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 5.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 2334)
Found among branches of Stylophora mordax and certain Acropora corals (Ref. 9710). It never ventures outside the confines of the coral head where it swims between the branches foraging for other coral-dwelling types (Ref. 275). Anterolateral glandular groove with venom gland; at least in dorsal-fin spines (Ref. 57406).
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
Paxton, J.R., D.F. Hoese, G.R. Allen and J.E. Hanley, 1989. Pisces. Petromyzontidae to Carangidae. Zoological Catalogue of Australia, Vol. 7. Australian Government Publishing Service, Canberra, 665 p. (Ref. 7300)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 120744)
CITES (Ref. 118484)
Common namesSynonymsMetabolismPredatorsEcotoxicologyReproductionMaturitySpawningSpawning aggregationFecundityEggsEgg development
ReferencesAquacultureAquaculture profileStrainsGeneticsAllele frequenciesHeritabilityDiseasesProcessingMass conversion
Estimates based on models
Preferred temperature (Ref. 115969
): 25.4 - 29.3, mean 28.3 (based on 2461 cells).
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82805
= 0.5625 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.01995 (0.00906 - 0.04395), b=3.01 (2.83 - 3.19), in cm Total Length, based on all LWR estimates for this body shape (Ref. 93245
Trophic Level (Ref. 69278
): 3.6 ±0.59 se; Based on food items.
Resilience (Ref. 120179
): High, minimum population doubling time less than 15 months ().
Vulnerability (Ref. 59153
): Low vulnerability (14 of 100) .