Barred Rabbitfish

Body blue above, silvery white below; from nape through eye to chin a seal brown band, another from base of 4th-5th dorsal spines to just below of pectoral fin. Spines stout, pungent and venomous. Preopercular 97°-110°. Strong scales cover cheeks. Midline of thorax fully scaled; sometimes a few scales absent from pelvic ridges.

Dorsal spines (total): 13; Dorsal soft rays (total): 10; Analspines: 7; Analsoft rays: 9; Vertebrae: 13

Species is strongly corallophilic. Individuals no larger than 7 cm SL form pair bonds. These pairs sometimes form feeding groups of half a dozen or so in areas flooded by rising tides such as reef-edge crests. Often, they form mixed feeding schools with other scarids. By 15 cm SL, they may be found in depths of 3-4 m (in deeper parts of reef flats or lagoons or drop-offs); pair bonding observed to be strong & exclusive. The species' favorite habitat seems to be dense thickets of Acropora sp.

Inhabits coral-rich areas of lagoons and seaward reefs. Juveniles form schools. Pairs form at 7 cm; but these pairs continue to form loose schools, sometimes with juvenile scarids, to feed in areas being flooded by the tide. At 20 cm, isolated pairs in deep water lagoons or on drop-offs at reef-edges feed on benthic seaweeds (Ref. 9813, 48637). Anterolateral glandular grooves with venom gland (Ref. 57406). Very closely related to the blue-spotted S. virgatus (Valenciennes) and apparently hybridizes at times with it in the Indo-Malayan region (Ref. 2334).

fisheries: minor commercial; price category: high; price reliability: questionable: based on ex-vessel price for species in this genus