Gilded goatfish
📖 Overview
Gilded goatfish (Upeneus doriae), first described by Günther, 1869 is a medium-sized fish in the family Mullidae (order Mulliformes). Adults typically reach 20.00 cm in maximum length. It inhabits marine coastal and open-ocean environments. It occurs in Subtropical waters. It feeds on a mix of small fish and invertebrates as a mid-level predator. The species schools in loose to tight aggregations. On the IUCN Red List, it is classified as Data Deficient.
🔬 Taxonomy
🐟 Physical Description
Dorsal spines (total): 8; Dorsal soft rays (total): 9. This species is distinguished by the following characters: D VIII,9; pectoral fins 14-16; gill rakers 7-9 + 22-24 = 29-33; lateral line scales 33-35; body slightly elongated. Measurements as % SL: body depth at anal-fin origin 23-26; maximum head depth 22-25; head depth through eye 17-21; suborbital depth 9.0-12; head length 29-31; snout length 9.4-12; postorbital length 11-14; upper-jaw length 10-13; barbel length 15=20; barbel width 0.7-1.1; caudal-peduncle length 20-23; second dorsal-fin base length 13-16; caudal-fin length 27-30; length of anal-fin base 11-12; anal-fin height 14-16; pelvic fin length 17-21; pectoral-fin length 22-26; pectoral-fin width 4.5-5.9; first dorsal-fin height 20-24; dorsal-fin spines decreasing in height starting with second long spine; second dorsal-fin height 14-16. Colouration: caudal fin no bars; first dorsal fin with pale brown to yellowish tip in fresh specimens that may fade away when preserved; a yellow lateral body stripe in fresh fish at level of upper edge of eye, sometimes visible in preservative; barbels white when fresh, pale in preservative; head and body silvery-whitish ventrally and laterally and dark gray dorsally, pelvic fins yellowish at origin; when preserved, head and body rather uniformly pale to dark brown or dorsally darker and fins pale, except for weakly pigmented first dorsal-fin tip sometimes still retained .: fusiform / normal; Cross section: compressed.
🌀 Behaviour
Behavioural data for Gilded goatfish is currently being reviewed.
🦐 Diet
🥚 Reproduction
🌍 Habitat & Distribution
Marine; demersal; depth range ? - 45 m . Subtropical Indian Ocean: Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman.
🌿 Ecology
📐 Morphometrics
🌡️ Water Parameters & Tolerance
🛡️ Conservation Assessment
📊 Population Risk & Fisheries
🔍 Similar Species
👥 Community & Contribute
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