Hypoplectrus unicolor
Butter Hamlet
Collection Details
Specimens
Photos
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Records
Taxonomic Hierarchy
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned Fishes)
Perciformes (Perciformes, Also Called the Acanthopteri)
Serranidae (Sea Basses and Groupers)
Hypoplectrus
Hypoplectrus unicolor (Butter Hamlet)
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
Head compressed and of moderate length; small canine teeth in jaws; vomer and palatine teeth villiform and arranged in narrow bands; preoperculum angular with serrae on ventral and posterior margins and several small antrorse spines on ventral margin near angle; gill rakers on first arch moderately long and slender, 6 or 7 on upper limb and 12 to 15 on lower limb; measurements (% SL): head length 37%–39%, snout length 12%–13%, eye length 8%–9%, upper jaw length 18%–19%, pectoral fin length 29%–32%, pelvic fin length 24%–25%, body depth 41%–51%; pectoral fin long and rounded with 13 to 15 rays; dorsal fin unnotched between spinous and rayed sections, originates anterior to pectoral fin base, with 10 spines and 13 to 15 rays; anal fin with 7 rays; caudal fin slightly concave; scales relatively small and ctenoid; lateral line gently arched anteriorly with 77 to 82 pored scales.
Color in life pale yellow, with dorsal section of body generally darker than ventral section and iridescent blue lines running vertically on head; blue line encircles orbit and extends ventrally on side; blue-edged black spot occasionally on snout; pectoral fin transparent; pelvic fin yellowish.
Distribution
Western Atlantic from southern Florida and the Bahamas to Venezuela, including the Antilles and the northern Gulf of Mexico off Port Aransas.
Northern Gulf of Mexico off Port Aransas.
Habitat Associations
Shallow water.
Biology
Food consists of penaeid shrimps and ray-finned fishes.
Maximum known size is about 120 mm TL.
Mainly carnivorous (Ref. 13810). Has been reared in captivity (Ref. 35420).
Reproductive mode: true hermaphroditism; fertilization: external; mating system: monogamy; nonguarders (open water/substratum egg scatterers); parental care: none.
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC), assessed 2012-08-21. Resilience: High (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
Commercial or Environmental Importance
Fisheries: commercial; aquarium: commercial.
References
Gunter and Knapp 1951
Böhlke and Chaplin 1968
Hoese and Moore 1977
Hoese and Moore 1998
Thresher 1978
Robins and Ray 1986 (in part)
Cervigón 1991 (in part as H. puella)
Domeier 1994
Randall 1996
Smith 1997
Lobel 2002
Randall, J.E. (1996) Caribbean reef fishes. Third Edition - revised and enlarged. T.F.H. Publications, Inc. Ltd., Hong Kong. 3nd ed. 368 p.
Sierra, L.M., R. Claro and O.A. Popova (1994) Alimentacion y relaciones tróficas. p. 263-284. In Rodolfo Claro (ed.) Ecología de los Peces Marinos de Cuba. Instituto de Oceanología Academia de Ciencias de Cuba and Centro de Investigaciones de Quintana Roo, Mexico.
Domeier, M.L. (1994) Speciation in the serranid fish Hypoplectrus. Bull. Mar. Sci. 54(1):103-141.
Barlow, G.W. (1975) On the sociobiology of some hermaphroditic serranid fishes, the hamlets, in Puerto Rico. Mar. Biol. 33(4):295-300.
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