Mulloidichthys dentatus
Goatfish | Mexican Goatfish
Similar Species
Distribution
Tropical Eastern Pacific
Description
Blunt rounded head with a flat lower jaw. Yellow stripe from snout to upper tail base with a white stripe of equal width above and below, a yellow transparent tail fin and a pair of long white barbels on chin. Often forms small schools and feeds by digging for animals in the sand it has sensed with it's barbels. Differs from M. vanicolensis (Goldstripe Goatfish), by location.
Information
Max Size: 31 cm
Sea Temperature Range: 21.7-31.5°C
Depth: 3-46m
Habitat Generalization Index: 7.58
Also referred to as the SGI (Species Generalisation Index), this describes the habitat niche breadth of the species. Species with values less than 15 are found in a relatively narrow range of reef habitat types (specialists), while those over 25 may be found on most hard substrates within their range (generalists). Learn more here.
Conservation and Rarity
IUCN Status: Least Concern
Occurrence: Frequent (17.8% of sites)
Occurrence describes how often the species is found on surveys within its distribution. It is calculated as the % of reef sites surveyed by RLS divers across all the ecoregions in which the species has been observed
Abundance: Many (16 per transect)
Abundance is calculated as the average number of individuals recorded per RLS transect, where present.
Edit by: Joe Shields