Taxon name
Plectorhinchus schotaf
(Forsskål, 1775)
Uploaded by
National Red List Database
Taxonomic information
Scientific name
Plectorhinchus schotaf
(Forsskål, 1775)
Assessed taxon level
Species
Higher level taxonomic groupings
Vertebrates
Fishes
Species authority
(Forsskål, 1775)
Taxonomic notes and synonyms listed
Two species, Plectorhinchus caeruleonothus and P. unicolor, have long been confused with P. schotaf (Johnson and Wilmer 2015).
Location and scope
Specific locality or subnational name or regional name
United Arab Emirates (the)
Scope (of the Assessment)
National
Countries included within the scope of the assessment
United Arab Emirates (the)
Does the assessment cover a marine EEZ area(s)?
Not_assigned
Conservation Status
Assessed as
Least Concern
Criteria system used
IUCN
(see Assessment details)
Assessment rationale/justification
In the UAE, this demersal, reef-associated species occurs on the Sea of Oman coast and possibly the Arabian Gulf coast. Fishing activity is not known to be causing population declines at this time. There are no known major threats; therefore, it is listed as Least Concern in the UAE.
Assessment details
Assessors/contributors/reviewers listed
UAE National Red List Workshop
Criteria system used
IUCN
Reference for methods given
IUCN. 2012. IUCN Red List Categories and Criteria: Version 3.1, Second edition. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK. iv + 32pp pp. And IUCN. 2012. Guidelines for Application of IUCN Red List Criteria at Regional and National Levels: Version 4.0. Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK: IUCN. iii + 41pp.
Further information
Endemism (according to assessment)
Endemic to region
Not assigned
Taxon distribution as listed in assessment
In the UAE, this species occurs on the Sea of Oman coast and possibly on the Arabian Gulf coast, but this requires further study. Globally, it is distributed in the Western Indian Ocean from South Africa (Transkei) north to the Red Sea, Arabian Gulf, Sea of Oman and Arabian Sea to Pakistan and India (Johnson and Wilmer 2015, Psomadakis et al. 2015). Its depth range is 1-80 m (Lieske and Myers 1994).
Is there a map available in assessment?
Yes
Habitat and systems
Ecological system type
Habitat
Habitat details as listed in assessment
This species is most commonly found in surf zones around rocky and coral reefs as well as in seagrass beds, and occasionally in rivers and estuaries (Roux 1986, Lieske and Myers 1994, Gell and Whittington 2002). Juveniles are found in tide pools (Smith and McKay 1986). This species is nocturnal and feeds on zooplankton and small fish (Dorenbosch et al. 2005). The maximum total length is 90 cm (McKay 2001).
Threats and conservation measures listed
Threats listed in assessment
Fishing activity is not known to be driving declines in the UAE at this time. Corals in the UAE and Arabian Gulf have severely declined due to the increasing frequency of mass bleaching events caused by rising water temperatures, which is a consequence of climate change, as well as pervasive coastal development (Riegl et al. 2018, Burt et al. 2019).
Publication
Ralph, G.M., Stump, E., Linardich, C., Bullock, R.W., Carpenter, K.E., Allen D.J., Hilton-Taylor, C., Al Mheiri, R., and Alshamsi, O. 2021. UAE National Red List of Marine Species: Reef-building corals, cartilaginous fishes and select bony fishes. 2021. Ministry of Climate Change and Environment, Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
