Fox face

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Fox face
Siganus vulpinus 2.jpg

Fox face ( Siganus vulpinus )

Systematics
Spinefish (Acanthopterygii)
Perch relatives (Percomorphaceae)
Order : Surgeonfish (Acanthuriformes)
Family : Siganidae
Genre : Rabbitfish ( Siganus )
Type : Fox face
Scientific name
Siganus vulpinus
( Schlegel & Müller , 1845)

The fox face ( Siganus vulpinus ), also more appropriately called badger face or yellow badger face , is a representative of the rabbit fish (Siganidae). The fish lives in the northwestern Pacific , from the Philippines , through Indonesia , New Guinea , the Great Barrier Reef , Vanuatu , New Caledonia , Tonga , Nauru , the Carolines and Marshall Islands to Kiribati in coral reefs up to a depth of 30 meters.

features

The fox face is a maximum of 24 to 25 centimeters long, but usually remains at a length of 20 centimeters. Its basic color is yellow. The head and chest are white with wide black "badger stripes". In the dorsal and anal fins as well as in the pelvic fins there are fin spines that are connected to poison glands. The fish can show a large black spot under the rear, soft-rayed part of the dorsal fin.

Fin formula : dorsal XIII / 10, anal VII / 9.

As with all rabbit fish, the 13 spines of the dorsal fin, the seven spines of the anal fin and the four spines of each pelvic fin are provided with poison glands.

Way of life

Young and adolescents live in large flocks, while adult animals over ten centimeters in length live in pairs. They feed primarily on the algae growth between the corals, but also consume zooplankton . When threatened, juvenile fish hide in larger groups between stony coral branches and look for food there.

Systematics

" Siganus unimaculatus ", a fox face with a black patch on the side

The fox face belongs within the rabbit fish family, which only consists of the genus Siganus , to the subgenus Lo , which, in contrast to the subgenus Siganus, has a long snout. Another species, the single-spotted fox face ( Siganus unimaculatus ) (Evermann & Seale, 1907), differs from Siganus vulpinus only by a black spot on the sides. According to observations by behavioral researcher Ellen Thaler , the fish can switch the black spot on and off depending on their mood, so it must be assumed that Siganus unimaculatus is only Siganus vulpinus with a visible side spot .

literature

Web links

Commons : Siganus vulpinus  - album with pictures, videos and audio files