Prionotus ophryas
Bandtail Searobin
Collection Details
Specimens
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Records
Taxonomic Hierarchy
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned Fishes)
Scorpaeniformes (Lionfish, Stonefish and others)
Triglidae (Searobins)
Prionotus
Prionotus ophryas (Bandtail Searobin)
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 bears long, tapering cirrus behind anterior naris, and large, fimbriated cirrus on upper section of eye, followed by several short, simple cirri. Snout is of moderate length, depressed anteriorly, and concave in profile. Rostral projection is broadly rounded, with crenate margin. Villiform teeth are arranged in rows in jaws, palatine, and vomer. Measurements are expressed as percent of SL: head length 32%–35%, head depth 18%–21%, snout length 16%–17%, orbit diameter 6%–8%, interorbital width 4%–5%, upper jaw length 13%–15%, preopercular spine length 13%–14%, pectoral fin length 60%–70%, first free pectoral fin length 22%–25%, body depth 20%–22%. Joined pectoral fin rays number 14. First dorsal fin has 9 or 10 spines, and second dorsal fin has 11 to 13 rays. Anal fin rays number 10 or 11. Posterior margin of pectoral fin is concave between fourth and ninth rays. Body is covered with small ctenoid scales. Nape and belly are scaled, and chest is scaled posterior to axil of pectoral fin. Lateral scale rows number 93 to 105.
Color is grayish brown on dorsal surface and sides, and lower sides and ventral surface are light except for elongate extensions of dorsal coloration and dusky blotches. First dorsal fin has proximal and distal series of spots forming irregular band, and second dorsal fin has dark blotch on anterior part of fin and faint spots on remainder. Pectoral fin is dark, with darker spots between upper rays. Caudal fin has three broad, dark transverse bands.
Distribution
Western Atlantic from Cape Hatteras to Venezuela, including the entire Gulf of Mexico.
Habitat Associations
Soft bottoms between 7 and 110 m, most abundant between 18 and 64 m.
Soft bottoms
Biology
Food consists of mysids, shrimps, and crabs.
Maximum known size is about 200 mm SL.
Spawning takes place between January and June. Maturity is reached at 100 to 129 mm TL at age one.
Found from bays and estuaries to the mid-shelf.
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC), assessed 2012-08-20. Resilience: Medium (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
References
Longley and Hildebrand 1941
Ginsburg 1950
Teague 1951
Hoese and Moore 1977, 1998
Ogren and Brusher 1977
Ross 1983
Robins and Ray 1986
Cervigón 1991, 1993b
Boschung 1992
Hoff 1992
Russell et al. 1992
Huidobro-Campos and Schmitter-Soto 1993
Schaldach et al. 1997
Smith 1997
Richards and Miller 2002a
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.
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.
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.
Richards, W.J. (1996) Triglidae: searobins. p. 797-805. In H.G. Moser (ed.) The early stages of fishes in the California Current region. California Cooperative Oceanic Fisheries Investigations (CalCOFI) Atlas No. 33. 1505 p.
Patzner, R.A. (2008) Reproductive strategies of fish. pp. 311-350. In Rocha, M.J., A. Arukwe and B.G. Kapoor (eds). Fish reproduction: cytology, biology and ecology. Science Publisher, Inc. Oxford. 631 p.
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