Melichthys niger, Black triggerfish : fisheries, aquarium

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Melichthys niger (Bloch, 1786)

Black triggerfish
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Melichthys niger
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Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes(genus, species) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa

Teleostei (teleosts) > Tetraodontiformes (Puffers and filefishes) > Balistidae (Triggerfishes)
Etymology: Melichthys: Greek, melas, melaina, melan, black + icthys yos, fish. On the other hand, in Smith et al.,1986: 878), 'body dark brown to black' in https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/266635#page/902/mode/1up.(P. Romero, pers.comm. 03/2022)..
More on author: Bloch.

Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range Ecology

Marine; reef-associated; depth range 0 - 75 m (Ref. 9710), usually 0 - 20 m (Ref. 40849). Tropical; 30°N - 29°S, 180°W - 180°E

Distribution Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Point map | Introductions | Faunafri

Circumglobal. Uncommon in most areas but abundant around isolated oceanic islands (Ref. 9710).

Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 50.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 5217); common length : 30.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 3272)

Short description Morphology | Morphometrics

Dorsal spines (total): 3; Dorsal soft rays (total): 30-34; Anal spines: 0; Anal soft rays: 28 - 30. This species is distinguished by the following characters: a deep groove in front of eye; 20-25 head scale rows from corner of mouth to lower end of gill opening; 57-66 body scale rows from upper end of gill opening to caudal fin base; presence of prominent longitudinal ridges following scale rows of posterior body; slightly rounded to double emarginate caudal fin; a thin white bar neat posterior margin of the caudal fin; black spots on scales forming lines (Ref. 90102).

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

Inhabit clear seaward reefs. More common around oceanic islands (Ref. 9276). Found on inner and outer reef crests, usually near the slope or drop-off to deeper water, where in small but loose aggregations. Sometimes swim high above substrate feeding on zooplankton (Ref. 48637). May also be solitary (Ref. 90102). Benthopelagic (Ref. 58302). Diet consists primarily of calcareous algae and zooplankton (Ref. 1602); also feed on phytoplankton (Ref. 5213). At Fernando de Noronha Archipelago, southeast Atlantic, groups of about 100 individuals join groups of spinner dolphins to feed on feces and vomits of the cetaceans when they congregate in a shallow bay for rest and social interactions. The postures a dolphin adopts prior to defecating or vomiting are recognized, and the fish begin to converge to the dolphin shortly before the actual voiding. Offal feeding may be regarded as a simple behavioral shift from plankton feeding to drifting offal picking (Ref. 48727). Marketed fresh (Ref. 9770). Minimum depth reported taken from Ref. 128797.

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae

Oviparous, distinct pairing during breeding (Ref. 205).

Main reference Upload your references | References | Coordinator : Matsuura, Keiichi | Collaborators

Matsuura, K., 2001. Balistidae. Triggerfishes. p. 3911-3928. In K.E. Carpenter and V. Niem (eds.) FAO species identification guide for fishery purposes. The living marine resources of the Western Central Pacific. Vol. 6. Bony fishes part 4 (Labridae to Latimeriidae), estuarine crocodiles. FAO, Rome. (Ref. 9770)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435)

  Least Concern (LC) ; Date assessed: 06 June 2011

CITES

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

  Harmless





Human uses

Fisheries: minor commercial; aquarium: commercial
FAO - Publication: search | FishSource | Sea Around Us

More information

Countries
FAO areas
Ecosystems
Occurrences
Introductions
Stocks
Ecology
Diet
Food items
Food consumption
Ration
Common names
Synonyms
Metabolism
Predators
Ecotoxicology
Reproduction
Maturity
Spawning
Spawning aggregation
Fecundity
Eggs
Egg development
Age/Size
Growth
Length-weight
Length-length
Length-frequencies
Morphometrics
Morphology
Larvae
Larval dynamics
Recruitment
Abundance
BRUVS
References
Aquaculture
Aquaculture profile
Strains
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Electrophoreses
Heritability
Diseases
Processing
Nutrients
Mass conversion
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Ciguatera
Speed
Swim. type
Gill area
Otoliths
Brains
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Internet sources

AFORO (otoliths) | Aquatic Commons | BHL | Cloffa | BOLDSystems | Websites from users | Check FishWatcher | CISTI | Catalog of Fishes: genus, species | DiscoverLife | ECOTOX | FAO - Publication: search | Faunafri | Fishipedia | Fishtrace | GenBank: genome, nucleotide | GloBI | Google Books | Google Scholar | Google | IGFA World Record | MitoFish | National databases | Otolith Atlas of Taiwan Fishes | Public aquariums | PubMed | Reef Life Survey | Socotra Atlas | Tree of Life | Wikipedia: Go, Search | World Records Freshwater Fishing | Zoological Record

Estimates based on models

Preferred temperature (Ref. 123201): 24.4 - 28.9, mean 27.4 °C (based on 1548 cells).
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82804):  PD50 = 0.6250   [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.02570 (0.01232 - 0.05364), b=2.94 (2.77 - 3.11), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this (Sub)family-body shape (Ref. 93245).
Trophic level (Ref. 69278):  2.4   ±0.0 se; based on diet studies.
Resilience (Ref. 120179):  Medium, minimum population doubling time 1.4 - 4.4 years (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref. 59153):  Moderate vulnerability (40 of 100).
Price category (Ref. 80766):   Medium.
Nutrients (Ref. 124155):  Calcium = 22.1 [8.5, 59.3] mg/100g; Iron = 0.571 [0.293, 1.352] mg/100g; Protein = 18.7 [16.5, 20.9] %; Omega3 = 0.15 [0.08, 0.31] g/100g; Selenium = 21 [9, 49] μg/100g; VitaminA = 24 [5, 107] μg/100g; Zinc = 0.775 [0.488, 1.276] mg/100g (wet weight);