Relevant synonyms None Misidentification None Meristic formula D, XIV+10; A, VII+8-9; P, 16-17; V, I+3+I; GR, 18-22  photo : David Darom

SHORT DESCRIPTION Body deep, ellipsoid, compressed. Dorsal fin origin above pectoral fin base. First dorsal spine small, directed forward and usually embedded in the skin. Dorsal ray portion margin round. Caudal fin truncated. Anal fin origin beneath 8-10 dorsal spines, its margin round. Pelvic fin origin behind pectoral fin base, its inner spine connected by a membrane to the abdomen. Head slightly concave with blunt snout. Mouth small with distinct lips. Maxilla not reaching vertical of eye. Close set of incisor teeth in a single row. No teeth on the palatine nor on the vomer. Small scales embedded in skin. color : dark brown to olive green with a touch of yellow on fins. size : common 10-22 cm (max. 30 cm). DISTINGUISHING CHARACTERISTICS Siganus rivulatus: caudal fin forked. All other families: less than 7 spines in anal fin. BIOLOGY / ECOLOGY Juveniles form large schools, while adults have been observed usually in small groups. Herbivorous, feed mainly on coarse brown algae, such as Saragassum spp., Padina spp., Dictlyotales spp. and Sphacelaria spp. Spawning season lasts from April to August. Eggs and larvae planktonic. habitat : rocky or hard substrate, usually covered with vegetation.

1st MEDITERRANEAN RECORD Israel, 1964. DISTRIBUTION Worldwide : Red Sea, eastern Africa to Mauritius and Reunion Island to the Arabian Gulf. Mediterranean : recorded first in Israel, in trammel net (specimens from 1955, Ben-Tuvia, 1964) ; successively recorded from Lebanon (George et al., 1964), Dodecanese (Kavallakis, 1968), Cyprus (Demetropoulos and Neocleous, 1969), Libya (Stirn, 1970), Tunisia (Ktari-Chakroun and Bouhalal, 1971) and Petraikos Gulf, Ionian Sea (Kaspiris, 1976). In 2002 this species was sighted and photographed in the coastal waters of Crete (Wirtz, pers. comm.). In 2008, Provence, France (Quignard, pers. comm.). More recently Mljet Channel, Croatia. ESTABLISHMENT SUCCESS Common. speculated reasons for success : presumably occupied an unsaturated niche with only scarce herbivorous indigenous fish species. MODE OF INTRODUCTION Via the Suez Canal. IMPORTANCE TO HUMANS Adults caught by trammel net and juveniles occasionally by purse seine. All spines slightly venomous. Stinging is very painful but no lethal cases have been reported. Several cases of ciguatera - like effects have been attributed to consumption of S. luridus.

KEY REFERENCES Ben-Tuvia A. 1964. Two siganids fishes of Red Sea origin in the eastern Mediterranean. Bulletin of the Sea Fisheries Research Station, Haifa, 37: 3-10. Herzberg A., 1973. A case of toxicity in the Rabbit fish of the Mediterranean coast of Israel. Fisheries and Fishbreeding in Israel, 8(2-3): 57-59 (in Hebrew). Ktari-Chakroun, F. and Boualal M., 1971. Capture de Siganus luridus (Rüppell) dans le golfe de Tunis. Bulletin de l'Institut National Scientifique et Technique d'Océanographie et de Pêche de Salammbô, 2 (1): 49-52. Popper D. and Gundermann N., 1975. Some ecological and behavioral aspects of siganid populations in the Red Sea and Mediterranean coast of Israel in relation to their suitability for aquaculture. Aquaculture, 6: 127-141. Stergiou K.I., 1988. Feeding habits of the Lessepsian migrant Siganus luridus in the eastern Mediterranean, its new environment. Journal of Fish Biology, 33: 531-543. FEEDBACK / COMMENTS TO AUTHORS

Last update of the species sheet: November 2013 ©ciesm 2002