Corniger spinosus
Spinycheek Soldierfish
Collection Details
Specimens
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Records
Taxonomic Hierarchy
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned Fishes)
Beryciformes
Holocentridae (Squirrelfishes)
Corniger
Corniger spinosus (Spinycheek Soldierfish)
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.)
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Characters
Oblong and moderately deep bodied, with long spines on suborbital bone and one or two large spines on preoperculum. Mouth is slightly oblique and terminal, with lower jaw forming fleshy knob at symphysis, projecting slightly beyond upper jaw, and fitting into notch between lateral tooth plates of premaxilla. Teeth in jaws are short and either rounded or pointed, and form bands tapering posteriorly. Vomer has triangular tooth patch, and palatine has elongate tooth patch. Nasal bone has anteriorly directed spines, and suborbital bone has four or five marginal spines. Preoperculum has double serrated margin and one or two spines at margin extending beyond opercular margin. Operculum is spiny on surface and along margin. Gill rakers on first arch are short and number 18 to 20. Branchiostegal rays number 8. Head length is 38.5% to 41.3%, snout length is 7.6% to 9.5%, eye diameter is 11.7% to 14.3%, interorbital width is 5.4% to 6.5%, body depth is 42.4% to 49.7%, pectoral fin length is 24.2% to 28.6%, and pelvic fin length is 22.6% to 25.3% of SL. Pectoral fin has 16 or 17 rays. Dorsal fin is notched and consists of 12 strong spines, with last longer than next to last, and 13 or 14 rays. Anal fin has 4 spines, with first minute, and 9 to 12 rays. Scales are large, thick, and rectangular or square. Lateral line scales number 28 to 30, and vertebrae number 27.
Color is bright red, with center of body scales pale or reflecting silvery. Spiny dorsal fin membranes are dark red, and soft dorsal fin rays are red and membranes are hyaline.
Distribution
Western Atlantic from South Carolina to Brazil, including the northern Gulf of Mexico and the Greater Antilles
Northern Gulf of Mexico
Habitat Associations
Between 45 and 275 m
Biology
Maximum known size is 200 mm TL
Inhabits deep rocky slopes (Ref. 7251) and reefs (Ref. 51183).
Reproductive mode: dioecism; fertilization: external; nonguarders (open water/substratum egg scatterers); parental care: none.
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC), assessed 2013-01-29. Resilience: High (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
Phylogeny and Morphologically Similar Fishes
Distinguished from other species of the family by a combination of characters
Commercial or Environmental Importance
Fisheries: of potential interest.
References
Woods and Sonoda 1973
Haburay et al. 1974
Hastings and Bortone 1976
Uyeno et al. 1983
Boschung 1992
Thresher, R.E. (1984) Reproduction in reef fishes. T.F.H. Publications, Inc. Ltd., Neptune City, New Jersey. 399 p.
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.
Uyeno, T., K. Matsuura and E. Fujii (eds.) (1983) Fishes trawled off Suriname and French Guiana. Japan Marine Fishery Resource Research Center, Tokyo, Japan. 519 p.
Dennis, G.D., D. Hensley, P.L. Colin and J.J. Kimmel (2004) New records of marine fishes from the Puerto Rican plateau. Caribb. J. Sci. 40(1):70-87.
Comments On Corniger spinosus