Taxon name
Sphyraena flavicauda
Rüppell, 1838
Uploaded by
National Red List Database
Taxonomic information
Scientific name
Sphyraena flavicauda
Rüppell, 1838
Assessed taxon level
Species
Higher level taxonomic groupings
Vertebrates
Fishes
Species authority
Rüppell, 1838
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
This coastal species occurs throughout UAE waters. Fishing activity is not known to be driving population declines at this time; 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
This species occurs throughout UAE waters. Globally, it is widespread in the Indo-West Pacific. It can be easily confused with Sphyraena obtusata (Senou 2001).
Is there a map available in assessment?
Yes
Habitat and systems
Ecological system type
Habitat
Habitat details as listed in assessment
This species inhabits coral reefs or bays, and is generally observed during the day in large schools on coastal reefs. On reefs of Kuwait, it is occasionally observed in small aggregations well above the bottom (Carpenter et al. 1997a). It can also occur in mangrove habitats (Burt et al. 2017). The maximum total length is 60 cm, commonly to 40 cm (Senou 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.
