Actinopterygii (ray-finned fishes) > Beryciformes
(Sawbellies) > Holocentridae
(Squirrelfishes, soldierfishes) > Holocentrinae
Etymology: Sargocentron: Greek, sargos = sargus + Greek, kentron = sting (Ref. 45335).
Environment / Climate / Range
Marine; reef-associated; depth range 1 - 30 m (Ref. 9710), usually ? - 22 m (Ref. 3156). Tropical; 33°N -
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 15.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 26340)
Morphology | Morphometrics
soft rays: 8. Body slender, sides compressed. Snout spinules prominent, spine extending into the posterior narial opening. White stripes on upper sides narrow, separated by broader dark bands (Ref. 37108). Body with alternate stripes of red and silvery white; spinous dorsal fin red, white at tips, with a large black spot between the first 3 or 4 spines (Ref. 13442).
Western Atlantic: Bermuda and Florida, USA to northern South America.
Inhabit sandy, rocky and coral bottoms (Ref. 5521). More common on seaward reefs than on protected reefs. Retreat into recesses when alarmed (Ref. 9710). Nocturnal (Ref. 37108). Secretive, found deep in crevices between branches of live corals (Ref. 26938). Oviparous, with planktonic eggs and larvae (Ref. 240).
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
Smith-Vaniz, W.F., B.B. Collette and B.E. Luckhurst, 1999. Fishes of Bermuda: history, zoogeography, annotated checklist, and identification keys. American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists Special Publication No. 4. 424 p. (Ref. 35505)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 96402)
CITES (Ref. 94142)
Threat to humans
Reports of ciguatera poisoning (Ref. 30303)
ReferencesAquacultureAquaculture profileStrainsGeneticsAllele frequenciesHeritabilityDiseasesProcessingMass conversion
Estimates of some properties based on models
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82805
= 0.5000 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.01413 (0.00879 - 0.02269), b=2.99 (2.85 - 3.13), based on LWR estimates for species & Genus-body shape (Ref. 93245
Trophic Level (Ref. 69278
): 3.6 ±0.5 se; Based on diet studies.
Resilience (Ref. 69278
): High, minimum population doubling time less than 15 months (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
Vulnerability (Ref. 59153
): Low vulnerability (11 of 100) .