Hemanthias leptus
Longtail Bass
Collection Details
Specimens
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Records
Taxonomic Hierarchy
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned Fishes)
Perciformes (Perciformes, Also Called the Acanthopteri)
Serranidae (Sea Basses and Groupers)
Hemanthias
Hemanthias leptus (Longtail Bass)
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
Maxilla and top of head free of scales; continuous lateral line; anterior and posterior nares close set; orbit diameter greater than interorbital width; mouth oblique with upper jaw indented at symphysis; supramaxilla lacking; upper jaw with outer row of conical teeth and inner band of villiform teeth, with two pairs of large canines on either side of groove at symphysis; lower jaw with series of conical teeth and two or three pairs of canines on either side of symphysis; vomerine tooth patch chevron shaped; preoperculum angular with posterior margin finely serrate, ventral margin smooth to coarsely serrate, and angle with enlarged serrae or spines; gill rakers on first arch long and slender, 34-39 total, 9-12 on upper limb and 24-28 on lower limb; head length 30%-36% SL, snout length 7%-8% SL, orbit diameter 6%-13% SL, interorbital width 6%-7% SL, body depth 27%-38% SL; pectoral fin moderate length, pointed, 17-19 rays; dorsal fin continuous, 10 spines and 13-15 rays, third spine with long filament in adults; pelvic fin produced in specimens >190 mm SL; anal fin 8 (rarely 7) rays; caudal fin deeply forked with short filaments in small specimens, truncate with median notch in large specimens; scales large, ctenoid, covering body and head except snout, maxilla, interorbital region, lower jaw, and gular and branchiostegal regions; scales around caudal peduncle 40-46; lateral line high along flank, 54-62 tubed scales
Red dorsally, pink to silvery laterally and ventrally, with yellow or golden stripe below eye from snout tip to pectoral fin base; fins yellow with reddish bases
Distribution
Western Atlantic from North Carolina to Suriname, including the Gulf of Mexico
Northern and southern Gulf of Mexico, more common in western than eastern Gulf
Habitat Associations
Depth range 35-640 m
Biology
Zooplankton such as copepods
Maximum known size 456 mm SL
Evidence of protogyny, with large females transforming into functional males, but small males also known, suggesting both primary and secondary males
Occurs over hard bottoms.
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC), assessed 2012-08-21. Resilience: Medium (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
Commercial or Environmental Importance
Fisheries: commercial; gamefish.
References
Ginsburg 1952a
Ginsburg 1954
Briggs et al. 1964
Moore 1975a
Hoese and Moore 1977
Hoese and Moore 1998
Robins and Ray 1986
Cervigón 1991
Boschung 1992
Bullock and Smith 1992
Schaldach et al. 1997
Anderson 2002b
Cervigón, F., R. Cipriani, W. Fischer, L. Garibaldi, M. Hendrickx, A.J. Lemus, R. Márquez, J.M. Poutiers, G. Robaina and B. Rodriguez (1992) Fichas FAO de identificación de especies para los fines de la pesca. Guía de campo de las especies comerciales marinas y de aquas salobres de la costa septentrional de Sur América. FAO, Rome. 513 p. Preparado con el financiamento de la Comisión de Comunidades Europeas y de NORAD.
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.
Comments On Hemanthias leptus