Spotted Goatfish

A series of three large blackish blotches on upper side of body beneath dorsal fins; color variable but usually pale, the scales of the back with reddish or yellowish brown edges and a central pale blue spot; diagonal light blue lines on head. Capable of displaying a pattern of large red blotches on head and body in less than a minute (Ref. 13442).

Spawnng may either be in pairs or in small groups (Ref. 240).

Dorsal spines (total): 89; Dorsal soft rays (total): 8

Inhabits shallow waters to depths of 90 m (Ref. 9626), especially over sand and rock bottoms in reef areas. Young juveniles often found on beds of seagrass, e.g. Thalassia. Feeds on small invertebrates (Ref. 9626). Grubbers which excavate while moving, feed on bottom animals (Ref. 40396). Microinvertivore (Ref. 33499). Mobile invertebrate feeder (Ref. 126840).

Inhabits shallow waters to depths of 90 m (Ref. 9626), especially over sand and rock bottoms in reef areas. Young juveniles often found on beds of seagrass, e.g. Thalassia. Feeds on small invertebrates (Ref. 9626). Flesh highly esteemed; marketed fresh and frozen (Ref. 3792). Traded as an aquarium fish at Ceará, Brazil (Ref. 49392).

fisheries: commercial; aquarium: commercial

Pseudupeneus maculatus, the spotted goatfish, is a species from the family Mullidae. The species was originally described by Marcus Elieser Bloch in 1793. It occurs in the western Atlantic Ocean.

Western Atlantic: Bermuda and New Jersey, USA to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; including the Gulf of Mexico and throughout the Caribbean Sea

benthic