Bodianus rufus
Spanish Hogfish
Collection Details
Specimens
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Records
Taxonomic Hierarchy
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned Fishes)
Perciformes (Perciformes, Also Called the Acanthopteri)
Labridae (Wrasses)
Bodianus
Bodianus rufus (Spanish Hogfish)
Description
This species account was compiled from
Composite (multiple sources) (McEachran, J.D. and J.D. Fechhelm. Fishes of the Gulf of Mexico. University of Texas Press, Austin.)
and processed using AI-assisted text extraction.
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Characters
Moderately deep body, pointed snout, canine teeth in corner of jaws, immaculate pectoral fin. Dorsal profile of head nearly straight. Maxilla extends to anterior margin of eye. Upper jaw with two large canine teeth on either side of symphysis, a small curved canine in corner of mouth, and a row of stout blunt teeth behind canines. Lower jaw with two large canine teeth on either side of symphysis and a row of short stout teeth behind canines. Preopercular margin slightly serrated. Gill rakers on first gill arch short, numbering 17 to 19. Measurements (% SL): head length 33%–35%, snout length 10%–13%, eye diameter 6%–7%, upper jaw length 10%–13%, pectoral fin length 24%–25%, body depth 29%–37%. Pectoral fin fanlike with 15 or 16 rays. Dorsal fin with 11 or 12 (usually 12) spines and 9 to 11 rays. Anal fin similar in size and shape to rayed section of dorsal fin, with 3 spines and 11 to 13 rays. Posterior rays of dorsal and anal fins elongated into filaments in adults. Caudal fin truncate to slightly convex, with upper and lower corners extended as filaments in adults. Scales cover bases of dorsal and anal fins. Lateral line gently curved and continuous, with 29 to 31 pored scales.
Bluish purple, reddish, or plum on anterior two-thirds of body, and yellow on ventral and posterior one-third of body. Large adults may be bluish black. Jaws gold, orange, or reddish; eye red; black spot on anterior section of dorsal fin. Juveniles similar in color, but entire anterior half of body may be dark.
Distribution
Western Atlantic from North Carolina and Bermuda to southern Brazil, including the Gulf of Mexico, the Bahamas, and the Greater and Lesser Antilles.
Common on offshore banks in the Gulf of Mexico.
Habitat Associations
Associated with coral reefs, to 40 m depth.
Coral reefs.
Biology
Mollusks, sea urchins, brittle stars, and small crabs. Juveniles are cleaners of ectoparasites on large fishes of many species.
Maximum known size is 500 mm TL.
Adults inhabit rocky or coral reefs (Ref. 9710). Feed on brittle stars, crustaceans, mollusks, and sea urchins (Ref. 9710). Juveniles actively pick parasites from larger fishes (Ref. 5521). A protogynous hermaphrodite (Ref. ). Oviparous, distinct pairing during breeding (Ref. 205). May hybridize with spotfin hogfish, B. pulchellus (Ref. 40096). Marketed fresh (Ref. 3726). Maximum depth reported from Ref. 27115.
Reproductive mode: protogyny; fertilization: external; mating system: polygyny; nonguarders (open water/substratum egg scatterers); parental care: none. Oviparous (Ref. 205). Forms permanent harem groups composed of a single male and several smaller females (Ref. 55398). Monandric species (Ref. 55398). Sex reversal is completed in 7-10 days (Ref. 34185, 34247). Length at sex change = 17.28 cm TL (Ref. 55398). Spawning occurs at dusk (Ref. 55398).
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC), assessed 2009-03-25. Resilience: Medium (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
Commercial or Environmental Importance
Fisheries: minor commercial; gamefish; aquarium: commercial.
References
Feddern 1963
Böhlke and Chaplin 1968
Randall 1968a
Randall 1996
Haburay et al. 1969
Bright and Cashman 1974
Sonnier et al. 1976
Hoese and Moore 1977
Hoese and Moore 1998
Robins and Ray 1986
Boschung 1992
Schaldach et al. 1997
Smith 1997
Smith-Vaniz et al. 1999
Westneat 2002a
Randall, J.E. (1967) Food habits of reef fishes of the West Indies. Stud. Trop. Oceanogr. Miami 5:665-847.
Bardach, J.E. (1959) The summer standing crop of fish on a shallow Bermuda Reef. Limnol. Oceanogr. 4:77-85.
Robins, C.R. and G.C. Ray (1986) A field guide to Atlantic coast fishes of North America. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, U.S.A. 354 p.
Cervigón, F. (1993) Los peces marinos de Venezuela. Volume 2. Fundación Científica Los Roques, Caracas,Venezuela. 497 p.
Lieske, E. and R. Myers (1994) Collins Pocket Guide. Coral reef fishes. Indo-Pacific & Caribbean including the Red Sea. Haper Collins Publishers, 400 p.
Randall, J.E. (1996) Caribbean reef fishes. Third Edition - revised and enlarged. T.F.H. Publications, Inc. Ltd., Hong Kong. 3nd ed. 368 p.
García-Cagide, A., R. Claro and B.V. Koshelev (1994) Reproducción. p. 187-262. In R. Claro (ed.) Ecología de los peces marinos de Cuba. Inst. Oceanol. Acad. Cienc. Cuba. and Cen. Invest. Quintana Roo (CIQRO) México.
Smith, C.L. (1997) National Audubon Society field guide to tropical marine fishes of the Caribbean, the Gulf of Mexico, Florida, the Bahamas, and Bermuda. Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., New York. 720 p.
Warner, R.R. and D.R. Robertson (1978) Sexual patterns in the labroid fishes of the Western Caribbean, I: the wrasses (Labridae). Smith. Contrib. Zool. 254:1-27.
Hanel, R., M.W. Westneat and C. Sturmbauer (2002) Phylogenetic relationships, evolution of broodcare behavior, and geographic speciation in the wrasse Tribe Labrini. J. Molec. Evol. 55:776-789.
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