Species: Naucrates ductor, the Pilotfish
C black stripes
Naucrates ductor (Linnaeus, 1758)
Pilotfish
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: 0-150 m.
Circumtropical; throughout our region except the upper Gulf of California.
High Resolution Map Download
- Salinity
-
- Marine Only
- Marine
- Inshore/Offshore
-
- Offshore Only
- Offshore
- Water Column Position
-
- Water column only
- Mid Water
- Near Surface
- Habitat
-
- Water column
- Large fishes (billfishes, rays, sharks, etc), turtles & whales
- FishBase Habitat
-
- Pelagic
- Feeding Group
-
- No Data
- Carnivore
- Diet
-
- Bony fishes
- No Data
- Ectoparasites
- Pelagic crustacea
- Egg Type
-
- Pelagic
- No data
- Pelagic larva
- Global Endemism
-
- Transisthmian (East Pacific + Atlantic of Central America)
- All species
- East Pacific + all Atlantic (East+West)
- "Transpacific" (East + Central &/or West Pacific)
- All Pacific (West + Central + East)
- Circumtropical ( Indian + Pacific + Atlantic Oceans)
- TEP non-endemic
- East Pacific + Atlantic (East +/or West)
- Regional Endemism
-
- Continent
- Island (s)
- All species
- Tropical Eastern Pacific (TEP) non-endemic
- Continent + Island (s)
- Eastern Pacific non-endemic
- Residency
-
- Resident
- Climate Zone
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- North Temperate (Californian Province &/or Northern Gulf of California)
- Northern Tropical (Mexican Province to Nicaragua + Revillagigedos)
- South Temperate (Peruvian Province )
- Equatorial (Costa Rica to Ecuador + Galapagos, Clipperton, Cocos, Malpelo)
- Northern Subtropical (Cortez Province + Sinaloan Gap)
- IUCN Red List
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- Not evaluated / Listed
- CITES
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- Not listed
- Length Max
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- 70
- Depth Range Min
-
- 0
- Depth Range Max
-
- 150
