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Melichthys indicus  Randall & Klausewitz, 1973

Indian triggerfish
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Melichthys indicus   AquaMaps   Data sources: GBIF OBIS
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Image of Melichthys indicus (Indian triggerfish)
Melichthys indicus
Picture by Randall, J.E.

Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes (gen., sp.) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa

Actinopterygii (ray-finned fishes) > Tetraodontiformes (Puffers and filefishes) > Balistidae (Triggerfishes)
Etymology: Melichthys: Greek,melis, -itos = honey, a sweet thing + Greek, ichthys = fish (Ref. 45335).   More on author: Randall.

Environment / Climate / Range Ecology

Marine; reef-associated; depth range 1 - 30 m (Ref. 9710).   Tropical, preferred ?

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

Indian Ocean: Red Sea and East Africa eastward to western Thailand and Sumatra, Indonesia.

Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 25.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 4420)

Short description Morphology | Morphometrics

Dorsal spines (total): 3; Dorsal soft rays (total): 30-35; Anal spines: 0; Anal soft rays: 27 - 30. Narrow white margin round caudal fin; live specimens bluish or violet (Ref. 4420).

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

Inhabits coral-rich seaward reef slopes (Ref. 9710, 48637). Occurs singly (Ref. 9710). Digs holes below coral bases for shelter (Ref. 48637). Feeds on sponges, algae, crustaceans and small invertebrates (Ref. 5503). Caught with artisanal gear (Ref. 30573). Minimum depth from Ref. 58018.

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

Smith, M.M. and P.C. Heemstra, 1986. Balistidae. p. 876-882. In M.M. Smith and P.C. Heemstra (eds.) Smiths' sea fishes. Springer-Verlag, Berlin. (Ref. 4420)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 115185)

  Not Evaluated 

CITES (Ref. 94142)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

  Harmless




Human uses

Aquarium: commercial
FAO(Publication : search) | FisheriesWiki | Sea Around Us

More information

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Ecology
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Common names
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Summary page | Point data | Common names | Photos

Internet sources

BHL | Cloffa | Websites from users | Check FishWatcher | CISTI | Catalog of Fishes (gen., sp.) | DiscoverLife | ECOTOX | Faunafri | Fishes of Iran | Fishtrace | GenBank(genome, nucleotide) | GloBI | GOBASE | Google Books | Google Scholar | Google | IGFA World Record | MitoFish | Otolith Atlas of Taiwan Fishes | Public aquariums | PubMed | Reef Life Survey | Scirus | SeaLifeBase | Tree of Life | Wikipedia(Go, Search) | World Records Freshwater Fishing | Zoobank | Zoological Record

Estimates of some properties based on models

Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82805):  PD50 = 0.6250   [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.02570 (0.01237 - 0.05340), b=2.94 (2.76 - 3.12), in cm Total Length, based on LWR estimates for this (Sub)family-body shape (Ref. 93245).
Trophic Level (Ref. 69278):  3.0   ±0.29 se; Based on food items.
Resilience (Ref. 69278):  High, minimum population doubling time less than 15 months (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
Vulnerability (Ref. 59153):  Low to moderate vulnerability (28 of 100) .