Species: Naucrates ductor, Pilotfish, Pilotfish Jack
C black + wide white stripes
Naucrates ductor (Linnaeus, 1758)
Pilotfish, Pilotfish Jack
Elongate, fusiform body; mouth extends to under front edge of eye, upper jaw very narrow; gill rakers (including rudiments) 6-7 + 15-20; dorsal fin with IV-V small, free spines + I, 25-29; anal rays II + I, 15-17, base much shorter than base of dorsal; no finlets after dorsal and anal fins; pectoral short (< head length); tail base slender, with well developed keel and notches above & below; tail strongly forked; no scutes (hard spiny scales) on lateral line.
Body silvery with 6-7 black bars; tail either black with white lobe-tips or white, with a back stripe in center and another in center of each lobe.
Size: reaches 70 cm.
Habitat: pelagic oceanic; usually in company with sharks, rays, turtles, or large fishes; juveniles found in floating weed or with jellyfishes.
Depth: 0-300 m.
Circumtropical; Nova Scotia to Argentina.
High Resolution Map Download
- Salinity
-
- Marine
- Marine Only
- Inshore/Offshore
-
- Offshore
- Offshore Only
- Water Column Position
-
- Mid Water
- Near Surface
- Water column only
- Habitat
-
- Water column
- Large fishes (billfishes, rays, sharks, etc), turtles & whales
- FishBase Habitat
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- Pelagic
- Feeding Group
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- Carnivore
- Data
- Ectoparasite cleaner
- Diet
-
- Data
- Bony fishes
- Ectoparasites
- Pelagic crustacea
- Egg Type
-
- Data
- Pelagic
- Pelagic larva
- Global Endemism
-
- All species
- Circumtropical ( Indian + Pacific + Atlantic Oceans)
- Greater Caribbean non-endemic
- Transisthmian (East Pacific + Atlantic of Central America)
- Regional Endemism
-
- Also in Brazil
- Continent
- Continent + Island (s)
- Extends N + S of GC
- Extends North of GC
- Extends South of GC
- GC non-endemic
- Island (s)
- All species
- Residency
-
- Resident
- Climate Zone
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- Equatorial (0-10N, Costa Rica / Venezuela)
- Subtropical (23-35N, Florida / Carolinas / Bermuda)
- Temperate (>35N)
- Tropical (10-23N, Nicaragua / Cuba)
- IUCN Red List
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- Least concern
- Listed
- CITES
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- Not listed
- Length Max
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- 70
- Depth Range Min
-
- 0
- Depth Range Max
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- 300
