Gramma loreto
Fairy Basslet
NS
GNR
Collection Details
Specimens
Photos
There are no photos available for this taxon yet.
Records
Taxonomic Hierarchy
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned Fishes)
Perciformes (Perciformes, Also Called the Acanthopteri)
Grammatidae (Basslets)
Gramma
Gramma loreto (Fairy Basslet)
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.
It may contain errors in spelling, punctuation, or formatting.
When citing, please reference the original source rather than this page.
Learn more about our species accounts.
Characters
Disjunct lateral line; poorly developed procurrent caudal fin rays; blunt snout; anterior naris at end of well-developed tube, widely separated from posterior naris; lower jaw even with upper jaw; upper jaw extends to posterior margin of orbit; upper jaw with outer row of enlarged, slightly recurved teeth and inner patch of villiform teeth; lower jaw with one or two large recurved canines and inner patch of villiform teeth, and row of enlarged canines; vomer with small patch of slightly enlarged conical teeth; palatine with narrow band of similar teeth; preoperculum with broadly rounded and serrated posterior margin; operculum with 2 flat spines on upper posterior margin; gill rakers on first arch 12-13 upper limb, 20-22 lower limb; head length 32%-35% SL, snout length 6%-8% SL, upper jaw length 16%-18% SL, eye diameter 9%-13% SL, pelvic fin length 31%-53% SL, body depth 29%-36% SL; pectoral fin with 15 or 16 rays; dorsal fin shallowly notched, with 12 spines and 9 or 10 rays; anal fin with 9 or 10 rays; caudal fin slightly emarginate to slightly rounded; scales on head limited to cheek and opercular flap; lateral line scales 34-36 anterior, 10-12 posterior; most body scales ctenoid; vertebrae 27 or 28 (10 precaudal, 17 or 18 caudal)
Blue or purplish anteriorly, orangish yellow posteriorly, with two golden streaks on head and black spot on anterior margin of dorsal fin
Distribution
Florida Keys
Not reported from Gulf of Mexico, but may occur there
Habitat Associations
Reefs, between shoreline and 65 m depth
Caves and crevices of reefs, often under ledges
Biology
65 mm SL
Males incubate eggs, but are not mouth brooders
Often found in caves or under ledges. Swim with belly toward substratum, thus under ledges seen upside down. Feed on ectoparasites of other fishes (Ref. 5521). Males show various types of nest care behavior (Ref. 35580). Retreat into recesses when alarmed (Ref. 9710). Have been reared in captivity (Ref. 35420).
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC), assessed 2011-03-21. Resilience: High.
Commercial or Environmental Importance
Fisheries: commercial; aquarium: commercial.
References
Böhlke and Randall 1963
Böhlke and Chaplin 1968
Randall 1968a
Randall 1996
Robins and Ray 1986
Smith 1997
Mooi 2002a
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.
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.
Böhlke, J.E. and J.E. Randall (1963) The fishes of the Western Atlantic serranoid genus Gramma. Proc. Acad. Nat Sci. Philad. 115(2):33-52.
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.
Asoh, K. and D. Shapiro (1997) Bisexual juvenile gonad and gonochorism in the fairy basslet, Gramma loreto. Copeia 1997(1):22-31.
Asoh, K. and T. Yoshikawa (1996) Nesting behavior, male parental care, and embryonic development in the fairy basslet, Gramma loreto. Copeia 1996(1):1-8.
Comments On Gramma loreto