Scientific Name
Bembrops heterurus

Common Name
Squaretail duckbill

Biology
Dorsal spines : 6; Dorsal soft rays : 14-15; Anal soft rays: 16 - 18. Color in alcohol light yellowish to yellowish brown dorsally, light yellowish brown to creamy brown ventrally. Upper lobe of caudal fin elongated at an acute angle. Snout relatively short, 1.0-1.4x eye diameter. Scales on lateral and dorsal surfaces of snout including area in front of eye. Upper jaw extending behind anterior margin of eye but not reaching its mid-line. Maxillary tentacle short. Lateral line descending gradually along dorsal edge of pectoral fin, separated from origin of first dorsal fin by 4 or 5 rows of scales, from origin of anal fin by 6 or 7, and from insertion of anal fin by 3-5. Pectoral fin moderately rounded. Lower lobe truncate or rounded .

Classification

Classified By

Miranda Ribeiro, 1903

Class

Ray-finned fishes (Actinopterygii)

Order

Perch-like fish (Perciformes)

Family

Duckbills (Percophidae)

Distribution

Region

Western Atlantic

Distribution

Western Atlantic: off Rio de Janeiro, Brazil to Uruguay. Eastern Atlantic: Mauritania to the extreme northern waters of Namibia. The eastern Atlantic form referred to as Bembrops heterurus is unlikely to be conspecific with the Brazilian form, thus further taxonomic clarification is needed.

Range

12°N -

Environment

Climate

Deep-water

Water Temperature From

Unknown °C

Water Temperature To

Unknown °C

Depth From - meters

50 m

Depth To - meters

400 m

Zone

demersal

Environment

Marine; demersal; depth range 50 - 400 m , usually 80 - 200 m

Trophic Level

4.07 s.e. 0.69 Based on diet studies.

Occurs in Marine / Salt water

True

Occurs in Brackish water

False

Occurs in Fresh Water

False

Occurs on Reefs

False

Is kept in Aquariums

False

Physical Size and Genetics

Maximum Length

28.0 cm

Common Length

20.0 cm

Phylogenetic Diversity Index

PD50 = 0.5000 many relatives (e.g. carps) 0.5 - 2.0 few relatives (e.g. lungfishes)

Human Uses and Population

Human Uses

Fisheries: commercial

Vulnerability

Moderate vulnerability (38 of 100)

Resilience

Medium, minimum population doubling time 1.4 - 4.4 years (Preliminary K or Fecundity.)

Threat To Humans

Harmless

IUCN Red List Status

Not Evaluated