Goatfishes / Satmoneti
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Goatfishes / Satmoneti
Yellowstrip goatfish / Satmoneten Pento / Mulloidichthys flaveolineatus
Image from Coral Reefs CD
Satmoneti are elongated bottom dwellers that have a pair of long barbels or whiskers (called båtbas in Chamoru) under the chin. They use the barbels to probe the bottom for the small animals that they eat. Most kinds of goatfishes feed on crabs, shrimps and other sand-dwelling animals, but a few feed primarily on fishes. Most of Guam's 13 kinds of goatfishes hunt over sandy bottoms, but a few are found over hard rock or coral bottoms.
Satmoneti are excellent to eat and are caught by a variety of methods. Young goatfishes, called ti'ao, are caught by talåya (cast net), lågua' (scoop net) and chenchulu (drag net). Larger goatfishes, called satmonetiyos or satmoneti if over eight inches (20 cm), are caught by tekken(gill net), tokcha' (spear) and etupak (hook and line).
Young goatfishes swim to the reef from the open sea as silvery post-larvae when they are about two to three inches long. Within a few days they change to their adult color pattern and start feeding on the bottom. For their first several days on the reef, they are known as ti'ao. The yellowstripe goatfish, the most common kind of ti'ao, arrives on the reef flats in large groups. Both adult and young yellowstripe goatfish are the most common kind of goatfish in shallow reef flat and lagoon waters. During the day they most often occur in large groups. Adults may be seen hovering in deeper parts of the reef flats near the shelter of corals. They disperse over the sand at night to feed and change their color to a blotched pattern with an elongate dark spot on their sides. A few individuals also feed during the day and are uniformly light with the elongate spot on the sides. The dash-and-dot goatfish is the largest kind and grows to about 24 inches (60 cm).
Guam Comprehensive Wildlife Conservation Strategy, 9/27/2005
