pilotfish
Scientific name | Naucrates ductor |
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Descriptor | Linnaeus |
Year of description | 1758 |
IUCN category (World) | LC |
Family | Carangidae |
Genus | Naucrates |


Introduction
Naucrates ductor, commonly known as pilotfish, is a salt water fish.
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Who is it?
Morphology
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Average size40 cm
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Maximum size70 cm
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Patternvertical stripes
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Average size40 cm
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Maximum size70 cm
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Patternvertical stripes
How to recognize This fish ?
The pilotfish measures between 40 and 70 cm. This fish is bicolore with a predominantly noir and blanc body. The also has noir vertical stripes.
Behaviour & Life cycle
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dietomnivorous with carnivorous tendency
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Sociabilitygregarious
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territorialNo
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Way of livingdiurnal
The pilotfish is a fish gregarious naturally found mid-depth and near surface. This species is omnivorous with carnivorous tendency .
Although the pilotfish is non-territorial, it is sometimes aggressive towards other species.
Reproduction
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Reproductionovipare qui pond en eau libre
The pilotfish is a fish ovipare qui pond en eau libre.
Harmless species
This species does not represent any particular threats to humans when encountered in its natural environment.
Origin and distribution

Conservation status of populations (IUCN)
What is its habitat?
Natural environment characteristics
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Temperature18 - 30 °C
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Depth0 - 300 m
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EnvironmentActive pelagic
Biotope presentation
The pilotfish is most often found at a depth between 0m and 300m. However, it is not impossible to find this species at other depths.
Species of the same biotope
To go further
Sources & Contributions
Participation & Validation
The Fishipedia team and specialist contributors are committed to providing high-quality content. However, although the information comes from scientific sources or testimonials from specialists, the cards may contain inaccuracies.

Benoit Chartrer

Adrien Falzon
Translation
Translation done with the valuable contribution of our translators, who make this information available to a wider audience. We sincerely thank them for their commitment.
Bibliographic references
The biology and ecology of juvenile pilotfish (Naucrates ductor) associated with Fish Aggregating Devices (FADs) in eastern Mediterranean waters - V. VASSILOPOULOU - A. SIAPATIS - G. CHRISTIDES - P. BEKAS - Mediterranean Marine Science - 2005.
Color Patterns of Pilotfish (Naucrates ductor) and Their Possible Significance - John J. Magnuson - Reginald M. Gooding - American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists - 1971.
BULLETIN OF MARINE SCIENCE, 63(1): 249–256, 1998 249 BIOLOGICAL CHARACTERIZATION OF PILOTFISH (NAUCRATES DUCTOR) FROM THE FADS FISHERY OF THE ISLAND OF MALLORCA (WESTERN MEDITERRANEAN) - Olga Reñones - Enric Massutí - Salud Deudero - Beatriz Morales-Nin - BULLETIN OF MARINE SCIENCE, - 1998.
Scientific partners
Tags
#Carangidae
#Naucrates
#plein eau
#Bay of Bengal
#Gulf of Mexico
#Persian Gulf
#Great Barrier Reef
#Sea of Okhotsk
#mer d'Oman
#Caribbean Sea
#Philippine Sea
#Sea of Japan
#Labrador Sea
#Mediterranean Sea
#Black Sea
#Red Sea
#South East Asian Seas
#Indonesian seas
#Atlantic Ocean: North Coast of Brazil
#Océan Atlantique Est Afrique - Angulhas
#Océan Atlantique Est Afrique - Bengala
#Océan Atlantique Est Afrique - Golfe de guinée
#Temperate Eastern Atlantic Ocean
#Océan Atlantique Est Afrique - Transition & Cap Vert
#Eastern Cold Atlantic Ocean
#Gough Island
#Saint Helena
#Cold temperate Northwest Atlantic Ocean
#Northwest warm temperate Atlantic Ocean
#Southwest warm temperate Atlantic Ocean
#Eastern tropical Atlantic Ocean
#Southwest Tropical Atlantic Ocean
#East Indian Ocean
#western Indian Ocean
#Desventuradas Islands
#Galapagos
#Océan Pacifique Nord Est Tempere Chaud
#Océan Pacifique nord-est tempéré froid
#Océan Pacifique sud-est tempéré chaud
#Tropical Eastern Pacific
#Western Tropical Pacific Ocean
#Oceania
#Corsica
#Canary Islands
#Sardinia
#Sicily
Species of the same family
Species of the same biotope


