Masked spinefoot

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Species of fish

title: "Masked spinefoot" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["siganidae", "fish-described-in-1852", "taxa-named-by-hermann-schlegel"] description: "Species of fish" topic_path: "general/siganidae" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Masked_spinefoot" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Species of fish ::

Teuthis puella (Schlegel, 1852)
Amphacanthus cyanotaenia Bleeker, 1853
Amphacanthus ocularis Thiollière, 1857
Siganus zoniceps Seale, 1906
Siganus sevenlineatus Borodin, 1930
Siganus hexacanthus Barton, 1950
Amphacanthus hexacanthus (Barton, 1950) | synonyms_ref = The masked spinefoot (Siganus puellus), also known as the masked rabbitfish, bluelined rabbitfish, blue-lined spinefoot, decorated rabbitfish or maiden spinefoot, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a rabbitfish belonging to the family Siganidae. It occurs in shallow, coral-rich areas of clear lagoons and seaward reefs of the Indo-West Pacific region.

Taxonomy

The masked spinefoot was first formally described in 1852 as Ampacanthus puellus by the German zoologist Hermann Schlegel with the type locality given as Ternate in the Molucca Islands in Indonesia. The specific name puellus means "a small boy". Schlegel did not explain why he chose that name.

Description

The masked spinefoot has a compressed body. The depth of its body fits between 2.3 and 2.6 times into its standard length. It has a symmetrical wedge-shaped head with a slightly protruding snout. The front nostril is flanged, the flange growing in to a triangle shaped flap to the rear. There is a recumbent spine to the front of the dorsal fin.{{cite book | editor1 = Carpenter, K.E. | editor2 = Niem, V.H. | name-list-style = and | title = FAO species identification guide for fishery purposes. The living marine resources of the Western Central Pacific. Volume 6. Bony fishes part 4 (Labridae to Latimeriidae), estuarine crocodiles, sea turtles, sea snakes and marine mammal | publisher = FAO Rome | year = 2001 | chapter = Siganidae | author = D.J. Woodland | page = 3640 | isbn = 92-5-104587-9 |url = http://www.fao.org/3/y0870e/y0870e27.pdf}} Like all rabbitfishes, the dorsal fin has 13 spines and 10 soft rays while the anal fin has 7 spines and 9 soft rays. The caudal fin is strongly forked, especially in adults, with acutely pointed lobes.

Distribution and habitat

The masked spinefoot has a wide Indo-West Pacific range which extends from the Cocos-Keeling Islands and the outer reefs of northwestern Shelf of Western Australia through Indonesia to the Ryukyu Islands and Kiribati, to southern Great Barrier Reef and New Caledonia. It is found to depths down to 30 m in the shallow waters of clear lagoon rich in corals and on seaward reefs.

Biology

Masked spinefoot juveniles school, especially over areas dominated by Acropora branching corals.

Hunting

The masked spinefoot is caught by spearfishing and in fish traps and small amounts are regularly found in fish markets.

References

(2016). "Siganus puellus".
{{FishBase. Siganus. puellus. (2021)
{{Cof genus
(12 January 2021). "Order Acanthuriformes (part 2): Families Ephippidae, Leiognathidae, Scatophagidae, Antigoniidae, Siganidae, Caproidae, Luvaridae, Zanclidae and Acanthuridae". Christopher Scharpf and Kenneth J. Lazara.
Bray, D.J.. (2018). "''Siganus puellus''". Museums Victoria.
Mark McGrouther. (31 March 2021). "Masked Rabbitfish, ''Siganus puellus'' (Schlegel, 1852)". Australian Museum.
(2017). "Occurrence of a stonefish toxin-like toxin in the venom of the rabbitfish ''Siganus fuscescens''". Toxicon.

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