Paraluteres prionurus
Blacksaddle Filefish | Blacksaddled Leatherjacket | False Puffer | Mimic Filefish | Mimic Leatherjacket
Paraluteres prionurus, Coral Sea, Australia, Photo: Rick Stuart-Smith
Paraluteres prionurus, juvenile, Raja Ampat, Indonesia, Photo: Rick Stuart-Smith
Paraluteres prionurus, Tiny juvenile, Bali, Indonesia, Photo: Ian Shaw
Paraluteres prionurus, juvenile, NSW, Australia, Photo: Ian Shaw
Paraluteres prionurus, Tanimbar Islands, Indonesia, Photo: Joe Shields
Similar Species
Distribution
Tropical Indo-Pacific
Description
Near perfect mimic of the poisonous Canthigaster valentini (saddled pufferfish). Distinguished on close inspection by dorsal and anal fins with wider base, and by 2nd vertical bar ending in a black spot. Dorsal spine, if raised, is also a giveaway.
Information
Max Size: 11 cm
Sea Temperature Range: 22.3-30.4°C
Depth: 1-25m
Habitat Generalization Index: 7.83
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: Infrequent (9.7% 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 (2 per transect)
Abundance is calculated as the average number of individuals recorded per RLS transect, where present.
Edit by: extract from RD Stuart-Smith, GJ Edgar, AJ Green, IV Shaw. 2015. Tropical Marine Fishes of Australia. Reed New Holland