Market for sea moths in medicinals

The five fish species in the family Pegasidae, known as sea moths or sea robins, are only found in the Indo-Pacific and are unfamiliar even to most fish biologists and fishers. These intriguing and attractive fish – which measure less than 18cm – swim with huge pectoral fins and use their rolled pelvic fins to walk. They inhabit primarily areas of open sand or mud near seagrasses and are well-camouflaged against the ocean floor. The sole study of live pegasids – in a Red Sea population not known to be exploited – discovered that these are sparsely distributed, site-faithful fishes living in discrete pairs (Herald and Clark. 1993).

Vincent, A.C.J. (1995). Market for sea moths in medicinals. TRAFFIC Bulletin 15(2): 57 https://www.traffic.org/site/assets/files/2944/traffic_pub_bulletin_15_2.pdf