Colours

Distinguishing features

A medium sized grey fish with broken horizontal brown lines and dots on the body, and a conspicuous yellow spot in front of the tail base.

Size

Depth range

Synonyms

Distribution

Distribution and habitat preferences

Shallow reef flat areas near good coral cover in lagoons and other sheltered backreef habitats.

Can be found in most locations around the island but prefers sheltered sites.

Behaviour

The Goldlined Rabbitfish is usually seen resting quietly in the daytime in small schools, and the lack of feeding observations suggests this species is a crepuscular or even nocturnal feeder on turf algae, seagrass and macroalgae. This species spawns in groups during the warmer months, when fast running tidal currents coincide with dawn and dusk. They are mature at about 2 years of age, and the spawning takes place at a regular lunar phase, usually around the first quarter moon. There is little published information on the demography or ecology of the Siganidae, but they are likely to be long-lived fishes. Juveniles look similar to the adults, but are relatively uncommon.

Web resources

Danger

References