© Dammous, S. (FishBase)
Siganus rivulatus Forsskål, 1775
Body laterally compressed body with a slightly forked tail. The dorsal fin has 14 spines and 10 soft rays. The slender spines are barbed and bear venom. The teeth are incisor-like with lateral cusps and are arranged in a single row in the jaws.Colour variable, with the upper part being grey-green to brown that is lighter in colour (yellow to silvery) at the belly. There are usuall some small darks spots and yellow wavy lines along the sides. Length most commonly around 20 cm.
Zachariou-Mamalinga, H. (1990). The fishes of Symi, Dodecanese. Their scientific, vernacular, common modern Greek and ancient Greek names. Annales dei Musei Goulandris 8: 309-416.
1925
UNA
Marbled spinefoot
Inhabits shallow waters, prefering protected areas. It generally forms large schools of 50 to several hundred individuals. Feeds by grazing on algae.
It is a herbivorous species. Scientific evidence show that the intence grazing, especially in rocky areas, results in the creation of barrents. Apart from the effects on the algae, this has a wide range of other ecological effects (e.g. loss of habitats for animals, extripation of the native saleme Sarpa salpa, etc).
The venomous spine might cause a painful sting. No reports on severe cases. In addition, fishers complain on its effect on their fishing operations. It destroys nets (difficult and time-consuming to disentangle), reduces the commercial catch (if large schools of Siganus are being caught, then the amount of the remaining catch is significantly reduced), it has a low price and consumers do not appreciate it.
Yes
Yes (painful sting)
Records of Siganus rivulatus
Sites where Siganus rivulatus has been recorded in the Hellenic Sea.
