Parrotfish and Rabbitfish Codexery

Foxface rabbitfish

Last updated

Foxface rabbitfish

Dr. Dwayne Meadows, NOAA/NMFS/OPR · via Wikipedia: Foxface rabbitfish · Public domain

German zoologists Hermann Schlegel and Salomon Müller first scientifically described this marine fish in 1845, naming it Amphacanthus vulpinus and designating Ternate Island in Indonesia's Molucca Islands as the type locality.[1] Maximum recorded total length for this species is 25 cm, but individuals more commonly reach 20 cm.[1] The pointed snout is believed to be the feature that inspired the specific name vulpinus, meaning "fox-like."[2]

Scientific classification

  1. KingdomAnimalia
  2. PhylumChordata
  3. ClassActinopterygii
  4. DivisionTeleostei
  5. OrderAcanthuriformes
  6. FamilySiganidae
  7. GenusSiganus
  8. SpeciesSiganus vulpinus

Named by (Schlegel & S. Müller, 1845)

Close relatives

Other species of Siganus with a Codexery entry.

Sources: Wikipedia taxobox: Foxface rabbitfish (CC BY-SA 4.0) · order, family and genus agree with WoRMS AphiaID 273929 (CC BY 4.0)

Conservation status

Least Concern (LC)

  1. LC▲ this species
  2. NT
  3. VU
  4. EN
  5. CR
  6. EW
  7. EX
Population trend
Not held in our sources — see the assessment
Assessment published
2016

Source: IUCN Red List assessment · GBIF copy of the Red List category

How big is it?

Size comparison: Foxface rabbitfish and a personA 0.25 m long foxface rabbitfish drawn to scale next to a 1.8 m tall person. Schematic shapes, not a likeness.0.25 m1.8 m

Largest length in the source, 0.25 m, next to a 1.8 m person.

Diagram: drawn by Codexery, schematic shapes to scale (not a likeness). Length: Wikipedia: Foxface rabbitfish

Where the foxface rabbitfish has been recorded

Where the foxface rabbitfish has been recorded157 mapped locations from 3,658 GBIF occurrence records; marked places: Gilbert Islands, Ashmore and Cartier Islands, Timor Sea, Queensland, Capricorn and Bunker GroupGilbert IslandsAshmore and Cartier IslandsTimor SeaQueenslandCapricorn and Bunker Group

Each dot is a place where the species has been observed and reported (3,658 records, half-degree grid) — not a modelled range. 18 inland records left out (institution coordinates). 1 isolated far-off record not drawn.

Map: drawn by Codexery. Data: GBIF occurrence search (records CC0 / CC BY) · Natural Earth basemap (public domain) · place coordinates: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Biology and range

This species occurs in the far eastern Indian Ocean and western Pacific from Indonesia to the Marshall and Gilbert Islands, north to Taiwan and south to New Caledonia and Australia.[3] The foxface rabbitfish is omnivorous, eating mostly algae and zooplankton.[4] The body is compressed, and its depth measures between 1.9 and 2.4 times into the standard length.[5] Behind the eye, the head's dorsal profile rises steeply; there is a groove between the eyes, and the snout is tubular.[5]

Venom glands are located within the fin spines.[1] The body is predominantly bright yellow, with white coloring on the head and anterior body; when threatened, foxfaces can rapidly shift their color to dark brown as camouflage.[1] A black stripe extends rearward from the mouth, passes through the eye, and continues to the origin of the dorsal fin.[6]

What the specialist sources record

The Fishes of Australia account states that the Foxface Rabbitfish differs from the similar Blackbloth Spotface, Siganus unimaculatus, in lacking the dark spot or irregular blotch on the side.[7] The Liveaquaria guide describes the Foxface Lo as a very peaceful species except when housed with other rabbitfish.[8] The Liveaquaria guide also states that rabbitfish are generally reef-safe if they are well fed.[8] The Fishes of Australia account reports that this species inhabits lagoons and seaward reefs areas with rich coral growth, often in pairs among staghorn (Acropora) corals.[7]

The Liveaquaria guide lists the diet as consisting of a variety of fresh vegetables and undesirable species of algae.[8] According to the same source, juveniles and subadults sometimes gather in large groups within Acropora thickets to consume algae that grow on the dead lower portions of the coral branches.[7]

References

  1. Wikipedia, "Foxface rabbitfish" (CC BY-SA 4.0) en.wikipedia.org
  2. Wikipedia, "Foxface rabbitfish" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Phylogenetic relationships and natural hybridization in rabbitfishes (Teleostei: Siganidae) inferred from mitochondrial and nuclear DNA analyses", Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 2007, p. 69–80; "Order Acanthuriformes (part 2): Families Ephippidae, Leiognathidae, Scatophagidae, Antigoniidae, Siganidae, Caproidae, Luvaridae, Zanclidae and Acanthuridae", The ETYFish Project Fish Name Etymology Database, 12 January (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  3. Wikipedia, "Foxface rabbitfish" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Siganus vulpinus", 2016; Dianne J. Bray, "Siganus vulpinus", Fishes of Australia; "Siganus vulpinus", 2016; Dianne J. Bray, "Siganus vulpinus", Fishes of Australia (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  4. Wikipedia, "Foxface rabbitfish" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Lougher, "What Fish?: A Buyer's Guide to Marine Fish", Interpet Publishing, 2006, p. 118 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  5. Wikipedia, "Foxface rabbitfish" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: D.J. Woodland, "FAO species identification guide for fishery purposes. The living marine resources of the Western Central Pacific. Volume 6. Bony fishes part 4 (Labridae to Latimeriidae), estuarine crocodiles, sea turtle (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  6. Wikipedia, "Foxface rabbitfish" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Dianne J. Bray, "Siganus vulpinus", Fishes of Australia (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  7. Dianne J. Bray, "Siganus vulpinus", Fishes of Australia. facts only, no text reused. fishesofaustralia.net.au
  8. "Foxface lo", Liveaquaria. facts only, no text reused. liveaquaria.com

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Foxface rabbitfish (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.

Related entries

Siganidae, Phylogenetics, Acropora

Ranked in

Reef fish by maximum length

More in Parrotfish and Rabbitfish

Golden-lined spinefootSiganus punctatusMagnificent rabbitfishMasked spinefootMottled spinefootOrange-spotted spinefootSiganus canaliculatusSiganus doliatusSiganus insomnisSiganus labyrinthodesSiganus randalliSiganus rivulatus

Test yourself

Three questions drawn from this entry’s sources. Pick an answer to check it.

1. Who first scientifically described the foxface rabbitfish?

Correct.

Not quite. The answer is Hermann Schlegel.

From the source: “The foxface rabbitfish was first formally described as Amphacanthus vulpinus in 1845 by the German zoologists Hermann Schlegel & Salomon Müller with the type locality given as Ternate Island one of the Molucca Islands in Indonesia.”

2. To which genus does the foxface rabbitfish belong?

Correct.

Not quite. The answer is Siganus.

From the source: “The foxface rabbitfish (Siganus vulpinus), also known as the foxface, black-face rabbit fish, badger fish or the common foxface is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a rabbitfish belonging to the family Siganidae.”

3. To which biological family does the foxface rabbitfish belong?

Correct.

Not quite. The answer is Siganidae.

From the source: “The foxface rabbitfish (Siganus vulpinus), also known as the foxface, black-face rabbit fish, badger fish or the common foxface is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a rabbitfish belonging to the family Siganidae.”

Answers checked against the source article

Sources

Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.

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