Author: Linnaeus, 1758
Balistes vetula Linnaeus, 1758
Status in World Register of Marine Species:
Accepted name: Balistes vetula Linnaeus, 1758 (updated 2009-06-25)
Diagnosis: dorsal finrays III + 1-2, 27-28; anal finrays 2, 25-27; second dorsal much elevated anteriorly in adults. Scales in median, horizontal series 58-66. Colour: yellowish-green to dark brown, orange-yellow ventrally. Size: to 50 cm SL.
Habitat: on reefs and on sandy and grassy areas, down to 275 m. Behaviour: solitary or in schools. Food: sea-urchins and other invertebrates. Reproduction: no data.
Distribution: the Azores. Elsewhere, central and western Atlantic and Indo-western Pacific.
Eggs, larvae and young stages. No data.
Otoliths (sagitta). No data.