Family : Haemulidae (Grunts)
Order : Perciformes  (perch-likes)
Class : Actinopterygii (ray-finned fishes)
Fishbase Name : Harry hotlips
Fish Name : Plectorhinchus gibbosus
Max size : 75.0 cm TL (male/unsexed; Ref. 30874)
Environment : reef-associated ; depth range 8 - 25 m
Climate : tropical; 30°N - 24°S
Global Importance : fisheries: commercial
Resilience: Medium, minimum population doubling time 1.4 - 4.4 years (K=0.20)Distribution : Indo-West Pacific: Red Sea to Natal, South Africa (including Madagascar and the Comoro and Reunion islands); Gulf of Aden and the Persian Gulf eastward to Samoa, north to the Ryukyu Islands, south to Australia; Caroline and Mariana islands in Micronesia.
Diagnosis : Dorsal spines (total): 14-14; Dorsal soft rays (total): 15-16; Anal spines: 3-3; Anal soft rays: 7-8. Plain grey with dusky margins on fins and gills when adult. Juveniles brown to near black, mimicking leaves floating in surface waters (Ref. 48635).
Biology : Found in coastal reefs, sandbanks, and near estuaries (Ref. 30573). Enter freshwater (Ref. 7050). Small juveniles occur along sheltered sandy shorelines where they mimic a dead leaf by drifting on their sides (Ref. 37816). Adults mainly in protected inshore reefs to deep offshore, sometimes swims in small groups (Ref. 48635). Excellent food fish (Ref. 2799)
Threatened : Dangerous:  
Dangerous : reports of ciguatera poisoning , Smith, M.M. and R.J. McKay. 1986
Coordinator :
Main Ref : Myers, R.F.. 1991. (Ref. 1602)

India country information
Common Names : [ No common name ]
Status : native
Salinity : marine
Uses : no uses