Plectrypops retrospinis
Cardinal Soldierfish
Collection Details
Specimens
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Records
Taxonomic Hierarchy
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned Fishes)
Beryciformes
Holocentridae (Squirrelfishes)
Plectrypops
Plectrypops retrospinis (Cardinal 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
Oval shaped, moderately deep bodied, and compressed, with external bones of head rugose and spiny, a crescentic preopercular margin, and well-developed suborbital spines. Snout is blunt, overhangs jaws, and has convex dorsal margin. Mouth is large, maxilla extends to posterior margin of orbit. Nasal bone extends anterior to premaxilla. Lachrymal bone has smooth margin, and suborbital bone has 3 large spines directed anteriorly and several directed downward and backward. Jaw teeth are larger on either side of symphysis. Lower jaw teeth form knob that fits into notch in upper jaw. Vomer has small patch of teeth, and palatine has narrow bands of teeth. Gill rakers are of moderate length and number 23 to 27, including rudiments. Preoperculum has double serrated margin. Operculum has 2, or occasionally 3, spines. Spines are short, heavy, and diverge from single base. Head length is 38.8% to 42.4%, snout length is 7.1% to 9%, eye diameter is 10.5% to 14.3%, interorbital width is 5.3% to 6.7%, upper jaw length is 22.4% to 23.8%, body depth is 40% to 48.1%, pectoral fin length is 24.5% to 27%, and pelvic fin length is 21.2% to 24.9% of SL. Pectoral fin has 16 to 18 rays. Dorsal fin has 12 moderately slender spines, with last very close to first ray but not longer than penultimate spine, and 13 or 14 rays. Anal fin has 4 spines, with third longest, and 10 to 12 rays. Caudal fin is deeply forked, with upper and lower lobes rounded. Scales have straight to slightly convex anterior margin and rounded anterior corners. Lateral line scales number 32 to 36. Vertebrae number 26.
Color is bright red, including fins.
Distribution
Western Atlantic from southern Florida and Bermuda to northern South America, including the Gulf of Mexico, the Bahamas, and the Caribbean Sea.
Western Gulf of Mexico, specifically on the West Flower Gardens Reef.
Habitat Associations
Between 2 and 26 m depth.
Reef
Biology
Maximum known size is 118mm SL.
Remains in deep recesses during the day. Rarely seen (Ref. 9710). Found in holes and caves in coral reefs (Ref. 26938).
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 the combination of characters described.
Commercial or Environmental Importance
Fisheries: of no interest; aquarium: commercial.
References
Beebe and Tee-Van 1933
Bohlke and Chaplin 1968
Randall 1968
Woods and Sonoda 1973
Bright and Cashman 1974
Hoese and Moore 1977
C. R. Robins et al. 1986
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.
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.
Randall, J.E. (1996) Caribbean reef fishes. Third Edition - revised and enlarged. T.F.H. Publications, Inc. Ltd., Hong Kong. 3nd ed. 368 p.
Claro, R. (1994) Características generales de la ictiofauna. p. 55-70. In R. Claro (ed.) Ecología de los peces marinos de Cuba. Instituto de Oceanología Academia de Ciencias de Cuba and Centro de Investigaciones de Quintana Roo.
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.
De Moura, R.L., J.L. Gasparini and I. Sazima (1999) New records and range extensions of reef fishes in the western South Atlantic, with comments on reef fish distribution along the Brazilian coast. Rev. Bras. Zool. 16(2):513-530.
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