Holocentrus rufus
Longspine Squirrelfish
Collection Details
Specimens
Photos
There are no photos available for this taxon yet.
Records
Taxonomic Hierarchy
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned Fishes)
Beryciformes
Holocentridae (Squirrelfishes)
Holocentrus
Holocentrus rufus (Longspine Squirrelfish)
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
Relatively slender and oblong body shape; long preopercular spine; anterior part of rayed section of dorsal fin and dorsal lobe of caudal fin greatly elongated; snout sharply rounded; mouth slightly oblique and of moderate size; jaw teeth in bands that narrow posteriorly; vomer and palatine with well-developed tooth patches; preorbital bone margin serrate with anterior spine enlarged; premaxilla with double serrated margin and enlarged triangular spine at angle; operculum with 1 large, flat, triangular spine; gill rakers on first arch of moderate length, numbering 24 to 26; head length 28.8% to 32.9%, snout length 6.1% to 7.3%, eye diameter 10.3% to 14%, interorbital width 6.1% to 7.7%, upper jaw length 11.4% to 13.4%, lower jaw length 14.7% to 17.1%, body depth 28.8% to 33%, pectoral fin length 18.7% to 23.6%, and pelvic fin length 25.1% to 33.5% of SL; pectoral fin with 15 to 17 rays; dorsal fin continuous with 11 spines and 14 to 16 rays; anal fin with 4 spines and 9 to 11 rays; scales rectangular with anterior corners slightly produced and rounded; lateral line scales number 50 to 57; vertebrae number 27
Bright red or red-and-white striped or blotched; spinous dorsal fin with white spots along distal margin
Distribution
Western Atlantic from South Florida and Bermuda to northern South America, including the Gulf of Mexico, the Bahamas, and the Caribbean Sea
Habitat Associations
Shallow reefs
Biology
300 mm SL
Nocturnal (Ref. 37108), inhabits clear reefs (Ref. 5217). Found near mouths of caves and holes (Ref. 26938); at night they usually move to sandy areas and grass beds to feed on crabs, shrimps, gastropods and brittle stars (Ref. 3724). Marketed fresh but not popular as a food fish (Ref. 5217).
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 (K=0.9).
Phylogeny and Morphologically Similar Fishes
Distinguished from other species of the family by the combination of characters described
Commercial or Environmental Importance
Fisheries: minor commercial; aquarium: commercial.
References
Bohlke and Chaplin 1968
Randall 1968
Woods and Sonoda 1973
Bright and Cashman 1974
G. B. Smith et al. 1975
C. R. Robins et al. 1986
Boschung 1992
Randall, J.E. (1967) Food habits of reef fishes of the West Indies. Stud. Trop. Oceanogr. Miami 5:665-847.
Thresher, R.E. (1984) Reproduction in reef fishes. T.F.H. Publications, Inc. Ltd., Neptune City, New Jersey. 399 p.
Woods, L.P. and D.W. Greenfield (1978) Holocentridae. In W. Fischer (ed.) FAO species identification sheets for fishery purposes. Western Central Atlantic (Fishing Area 31). Vol. 3. [pag. var.] FAO, Rome.
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.
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.
Cohen, D.M., A.W. Ebeling, T. Iwamoto, S.B. McDowell, N.B. Marshall, D.E. Rosen, P. Sonoda, W.H. Weed III and L.P. Woods (1973) Fishes of the western North Atlantic. Part six. New Haven, Sears Found. Mar. Res., Yale Univ.
Comments On Holocentrus rufus