Anisotremus virginicus
Porkfish | Atlantic Porkfish | Burro Payaso | Paragrate Grunt
Distribution
Tropical Atlantic/Caribbean
Description
High back with bright yellow stripes along body which are often forked behind head, all fins yellow, an oblique black band over eye and a diffuse vertical black band behind head over pectoral fin base. Generally a nocturnal feeder. Juveniles have yellow head, white body with two black stripes along sides and a large black spot on tail base, often act as cleaners for larger fish and turtles.
Information
Max Size: 41 cm
Sea Temperature Range: 22.3-31.1°C
Depth: 2-20m
Habitat Generalization Index: 4.92
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: Not Evaluated
Occurrence: Frequent (13.4% 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: Few (4 per transect)
Abundance is calculated as the average number of individuals recorded per RLS transect, where present.
Edit by: Joe Shields