Sargocentron spiniferum, Sabre squirrelfish : fisheries, gamefish, aquarium

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Sargocentron spiniferum (Forsskål, 1775)

Sabre squirrelfish
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Sargocentron spiniferum   AquaMaps   Data sources: GBIF OBIS
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Saudi Arabia territory information

Common names: Gahiya
Occurrence: native
Salinity: marine
Abundance: | Ref:
Importance: | Ref:
Aquaculture: | Ref:
Regulations: | Ref:
Uses: no uses
Comments: Museum: Jeddah, NMW 75319; USNM 147444. Farasan Is., SMF 8083 (Ref. 27370).
National Checklist:
Territory Information: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/resources/the-world-factbook/geos/sa.html
National Fisheries Authority:
Occurrences: Occurrences Point map
Main Ref: Randall, J.E., 1998
National Database:

Common names from other countries

Marignan sabre, Candil sable, Long jawed squirrelfish, ... more

Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes(genus, species) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa

Teleostei (teleosts) > Holocentriformes (Squirrelfishes, soldierfishes) > Holocentridae (Squirrelfishes, soldierfishes) > Holocentrinae
Etymology: Sargocentron: Greek, sargos = sargus + Greek, kentron = sting (Ref. 45335).
More on author: Forsskål.

Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range Ecology

Marine; reef-associated; depth range 0 - 122 m (Ref. 9710). Tropical; 31°N - 38°S, 30°E - 124°W

Distribution Territories | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Point map | Introductions | Faunafri

Indo-Pacific: Red Sea and East Africa (Ref. 4201) to the Hawaiian and Ducie islands, north to southern Japan, south to Australia; throughout Micronesia.

Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 51.0 cm FL male/unsexed; (Ref. 40637); common length : 35.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 5450); max. published weight: 2.6 kg (Ref. 40637); max. reported age: 7 years (Ref. 126389)

Short description Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics

Dorsal spines (total): 11; Dorsal soft rays (total): 14 - 16; Anal spines: 4; Anal soft rays: 9 - 10. Head and body red, scale edges silvery white; spinous dorsal crimson in color; other fins orange-yellow; vertically oblong crimson spot on preopercle behind eye (Ref. 4201). Five oblique scale rows on cheek; body depth 2.4-2.6 in SL; head length (HL) 2.55-2.85 in SL; lower jaw when closed slightly to moderately projecting; snout length 3.0-3.8 in HL larger than orbit diameter in adults; interorbital width 6.3-8.7 in HL; maxilla extending posteriorly to a vertical at front edge of the orbit; anterior end of nasal bone often with 2 close-set, short spines; medioposterior margin of nasal bone spineless; large nasal fossa spineless on margin; slight ridge of upper edge of suborbital bones weakly serrate; 2 subequal opercular spines; long preopercular spine, usually greater than orbit diameter in specimens at least 20 cm SL; 3rd or 4th dorsal spine longest, 1.7-2.3 in HL; 3rd anal spine 1.7-2.3 in HL (Ref. 27370).
Body shape (shape guide): fusiform / normal; Cross section: compressed.

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

A solitary species that inhabits a variety of reef zones from reef flats to lagoon and seaward reefs to a depth of at least 122 m and is fairly common in areas not subjected to heavy spear fishing. Found under ledges during the day (Ref. 9710). Benthopelagic (Ref. 58302). Largest species of squirrelfish and the highest-bodied Sargocentron (Ref. 37816). Juvenile inhabits shallow protected reefs. A nocturnal species that feeds on crabs, shrimps and small fishes. Spine of preopercle venomous. Largest squirrelfish (Ref. 48635). Minimum depth reported taken from Ref. 128797.

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae

Main reference Upload your references | References | Coordinator : Randall, John E. | Collaborators

Randall, J.E., 1998. Revision of the Indo-Pacific squirrelfishes (Beryciformes: Holocentridae: Holocentrinae) of the genus Sargocentron, with descriptions of four new species. Indo-Pac. Fish. (27):105 p. (Ref. 27370)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2025-2 (Global))

  Least Concern (LC) ; Date assessed: 04 March 2015

CITES

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

  Reports of ciguatera poisoning (Ref. 2334)





Human uses

Fisheries: minor commercial; gamefish: yes; aquarium: public aquariums
FAO - Fisheries: landings; Publication: search | FishSource | Sea Around Us

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Internet sources

AFORO (otoliths) | Aquatic Commons | BHL | Cloffa | Websites from users | Check FishWatcher | CISTI | Catalog of Fishes: genus, species | DiscoverLife | DORIS | ECOTOX | FAO - Fisheries: landings; Publication: search | Faunafri | Fishipedia | Fishtrace | GloBI | Google Books | Google Scholar | Google | IGFA World Record | National databases | OneZoom | Open Tree of Life | Otolith Atlas of Taiwan Fishes | Public aquariums | PubMed | Reef Life Survey | Socotra Atlas | TreeBase | Tree of Life | Wikipedia: Go, Search | World Records Freshwater Fishing | Zoological Record

Estimates based on models

Preferred temperature (Ref. 123201): 24.4 - 29, mean 27.8 °C (based on 1488 cells).
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82804):  PD50 = 0.5000   [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.01738 (0.01390 - 0.02173), b=2.97 (2.92 - 3.02), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this species (Ref. 93245).
Trophic level (Ref. 69278):  3.6   ±0.4 se; based on diet studies.
Generation time: 4.8 ( na - na) years. Estimated as median ln(3)/K based on 1 growth studies.
Resilience (Ref. 120179):  Medium, minimum population doubling time 1.4 - 4.4 years (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
Prior r = 0.59, 95% CL = 0.39 - 0.89, Based on 2 data-limited stock assessments.
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref. 59153):  Moderate vulnerability (40 of 100). 🛈
Climate Vulnerability (Ref. 125649):  Moderate to high vulnerability (54 of 100). 🛈
Price category (Ref. 80766):   Medium.
Nutrients (Ref. 124155):  Calcium = 31.2 [13.0, 121.0] mg/100g; Iron = 0.443 [0.189, 1.251] mg/100g; Protein = 18.5 [17.3, 19.6] %; Omega3 = 0.14 [0.06, 0.30] g/100g; Selenium = 41.9 [25.8, 75.2] μg/100g; VitaminA = 95.3 [38.6, 226.8] μg/100g; Zinc = 1.33 [0.56, 2.50] mg/100g (wet weight); based on nutrient studies.