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Rabbitfishes

The family of the Siganidae or also known as rabbitfishes, are a group of fishes belonging to the Perciformes, whose name derives from the Latin word 'sigan', in reference to the morphology of the rostrum, which resembles that of a rabbit. Most rabbitfishes are exclusively marine fishes and rarely inhabit brackish waters of estuaries (Siganus vermiculatus). They can be found in shallow waters (between one meter and 50 meters deep) and coastal waters of the eastern Indo-Pacific and western Mediterranean. They frequent coral reefs, shallow lagoons, seagrass beds and mangroves.

Rabbitfishes have a somewhat elongated and laterally compressed body, which, when viewed from the side, has an elliptical body shape. Their mouth is terminal and small in size, and their jaws are not protractile. The dorsal fin of rabbitfishes is continuous and has 13 strong spines followed by 10 soft rays. The pelvic fins also have strong spines, usually 2 spines followed by 3 rays. The anal fin is formed by 7 spines followed by 9 soft rays. Some of the spines on the fins of rabbitfishes are connected to poison glands.

Rabbitfishes tend to be colorfully liveried species. However, during the night, or if they feel threatened, they change drastically, fading colors and dark spots appear.

Regarding the size of rabbitfishes, on average they usually reach 50 cm in length. These fish are mainly herbivores that feed on macroalgae, encrusting algae and even seagrasses, and represent one of the most important families of herbivorous species in reefs, since individually or in schools they clean the corals that make up the reef of algae. Some species may feed on sponges and/or tunicates. A total of 28 species are known, grouped in 1 genus (Siganus) which in turn is divided into 2 subgenera (Siganus in which there are 23 species, and Lo in which 5 different species are classified). Of the total number of known species, 13 form banks of individuals, while the remaining 15 species are solitary species.



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