Siganus insomnis
Specimen caught near Tuticorin, India
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Perciformes
Family: Siganidae
Genus: Siganus
Species:
S. insomnis
Binomial name
Siganus insomnis
Woodland & R. C. Anderson, 2014

Siganus insomnis, the bronze-lined spinefoot, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a rabbitfish belonging to the family Siganidae. It is found in the northern central Indian Ocean. It had formerly been confused with S. lineatus, but was recognized as a separate species in 2014.

Taxonomy

Siganus insomnis was first formally described in 2014 by David J. Woodland and R. Charles Anderson with the type locality given as Addu Atoll, Feydhoo Island in the Maldives.[2] The populations of spinefoots similar to Siganus lineatus in the waters off the Maldives, southern India and Sri Lanka had been considered to be conspecific with S. lineatus but differences in the colour and pattern as well as genetic differences showed that this was a valid, allopatric species.[3] The specific name insomnis means "sleepless", a reference to its preference for nocturnal feeding.[4]

Description

Siganus insomnis is a deep-bodied species of rabbitfish which is told apart from other rabbitfishes by having the flanks (apart from possibly the belly and a narrow strip along the base of the spiny part of the dorsal fin) marked with horizontal, parallel bronze coloured lines which extend the whole length of the flank from the nape and gill slit to underneath the large yellow spot below the base of the soft rayed part of the dorsal fin. Most of these lines on the flanks are uninterrupted for the whole of their length. There may be a row of bronze spots along the base of the spiny part of the dorsal fin. Like all rabbitfish, this species has 13 spines and 10 soft rays in the dorsal fin while the anal fin has 7 spines and 9 soft rays.[5] In small juveniles the caudal fin is emarginate but as the fish grows it becomes more forked.[3] This species attains a maximum total length of 35 cm (14 in).[5]

Distribution and habitat

Siganus insomnis is found in the northern central Indian Ocean in the Maldives, southern India and Sri Lanka.[1] Adults are normally found on coral or sandstone reefs, as well as beds of sea grass. The juveniles live in large estuaries. Estuaries are important habitats for the younger fishes who move onto reefs when they mature.[5]

Biology

Siganus insomnis lives in schools as adults. They are largely herbivores that scrape algae from rock and coral substrates as well as browsing on seaweeds and sea grasses. It likely also eats small amounts of animal matter. Analyses of intestinal contents of specimens with standard lengths between 2 and 27 cm (0.79 and 10.63 in) collected from lagoons and coastal areas of Sri Lanka showed they had consumed diatoms, green, blue-green, red and brown algae and a seagrass. This species appears to prefer feeding at night, and was apparently mostly inactive in the day.[5]

Fisheries

Siganus insomnis is fished for using gillnets and hand line in the Maldives and is also spearfished at night. It is also part of a major fishery in Sri Lanka.[1]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Carpenter, K.E.; Borsa, P.; Jiddawi, N.; Yahya, S.; Smith-Vaniz, W.F.; Obota, C. (2018). "Siganus insomnis". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2018: e.T117006624A117006650. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T117006624A117006650.en. Retrieved 20 November 2021.
  2. ↑ Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Species in the genus Siganus". Catalog of Fishes. California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 26 August 2021.
  3. 1 2 David J. Woodland & R. Charles Anderson (2014). "Description of a new species of rabbitfish (Perciformes: Siganidae) from southern India, Sri Lanka and the Maldives". Zootaxa. 3811 (1): 129–136. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.3811.1.8. PMID 24943153.
  4. ↑ Christopher Scharpf & Kenneth J. Lazara, eds. (12 January 2021). "Order Acanthuriformes (part 2): Families Ephippidae, Leiognathidae, Scatophagidae, Antigoniidae, Siganidae, Caproidae, Luvaridae, Zanclidae and Acanthuridae". The ETYFish Project Fish Name Etymology Database. Christopher Scharpf and Kenneth J. Lazara. Retrieved 26 August 2021.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.) (2021). "Siganus insomnis" in FishBase. June 2021 version.
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