Pronotogrammus martinicensis
Roughtongue 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)
Pronotogrammus
Pronotogrammus martinicensis (Roughtongue Bass)
Description
This species account was compiled from
Composite (multiple sources) (Carpenter, K.E. (ed.) 2002. The living marine resources of the Western Central Atlantic. FAO Species Identification Guide for Fishery Purposes. FAO, Rome.)
and processed using AI-assisted text extraction.
It may contain errors in spelling, punctuation, or formatting.
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Synonymy
Holanthias martinicensis (Guichenot, 1868) / None.
Characters
Body moderately deep, depth of body at first dorsal-fin spine 33 to 42% st andard
length. Head moderate, its length 31 to 37% st andard length in specimens greater than about 5 cm st andard
length. Orbit longer than snout, horizontal diameter of bony orbit 9 to 13% st andard length in specimens
greater than about 5 cm st andard length. Each jaw with a series of conical teeth; canine or canine-like teeth
present anteriorly in both jaws; vomer and palatines with teeth; vomerine tooth patch with a well-developed
posterior prolongation; endopterygoids with teeth in about 30% of specimens examined; tongue with large
oval patch of teeth. The 2 nostrils on each side of head fairly close toge ther; internarial distance 5 to 8 times in
snout length; posterior border of anterior nostril produced into slender filament (usu ally f alling well
short of orbit when reflected). Most of head, including maxilla, heavily c overed with scales. Gill rakers
on first arch 9 to 13 on upper limb and 24 to 29 on lower limb, total 34 to 41. Dorsal fin single, not incised at
junction of spinous and soft portions. Dorsal fin with 10 spines and 13 to 16, usu ally 15, soft rays. Anal-fin
length 30 to 39% st andard length. Anal fin with 3 spines and 7, very r arely 8, soft rays. Caudal fin crescen-
tic, outer principal rays of both upper and lower lobes slightly to fairly well produced. Upper caudal-fin lobe 28
to greater than 51% st andard length. Lower caudal-fin lobe 28 to greater than 58% st andard length. Pel-
vic fin relatively short, 25 to 35% st andard length. Pectoral fin with 16 to 18, usu ally 17, rays. Lateral line
continuous, not interr upted; tubed scales in lateral line 35 to 41, usu ally 38 to 40.
Circum-caudal-peduncular scales 18 to 22. Colour: body and head red-orange to rosy; iris of eye
red-orange, orange, yellow, or greyish green; yellow or greenish yellow stripe from anterior end of snout run-
ning ventral to eye out onto opercle; 2 yellow-green stripes radiating posteriorly from orbit in some specimens;
body may have golden or yellow stripes and yellow-green bars; dorsal, anal, and caudal fins mainly orange to
red-orange, often with some greenish yellow admixture.
Body shape: fusiform / normal.
Distribution
Bermuda and North Carolina to
sou thern Brazil, including West Indies, Gulf of
Mexico, and Caribbean Sea.
Habitat Associations
Known from
depths of 55 to 230 m. Often found in association
with clumps of Oculina or Madrepora. Con-
sumes ostracods, copepods, and pteropods. Ripe females collected in Gulf of Mexico in Feb-
ruary, March, April, and July. This species is a
protogynous hermaphrodite.
Biology
Maximum st andard length to about 17 cm,
commonly to 10 cm st andard length.
Adults are commonly found on outer continental shelf reefs. They primarily feed on zooplankton while common in the diet of larger predators like snappers and groupers (Ref. 96848).
Reproductive mode: protogyny; fertilization: external. Are monandric (males are secondary), protogynous hermaphrodites. About 50% of females transform into males at 7.63 cm SL and 1.0 yr of age (Ref. 96848). During the spawning period, oocytes are found to be in different stages of development indicating asynchronous oocyte development and indeterminate fecundity (Ref. 96848).
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC), assessed 2012-08-23. Resilience: Medium (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
Commercial or Environmental Importance
Fisheries: of no interest.
References
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.
Anderson, W.D. Jr. and P.C. Heemstra (1980) Two new species of Western Atlantic Anthias (Pisces: Serranidae), redescription of A. asperilinguis and review of Holanthias martinicensis. Copeia 1980(1):72-87.
McBride, R.S., K.J. Sulak, P.E. Thurman and A.K. Richardson (2009) Age, growth, mortality, and reproduction of roughtounge bass, Pronotogrammus martinicensis (Serranidae), in the Northeastern Gulf of Mexico. Gulf Mex. Sci. 27(1):30-38.
Simon, T., H.T. Pinheiro, R.L. Moura, A. Carvalho-Filho, L.A. Rocha, A.S. Martins, E. Mazzei, R.B. Francini-Filho, G.M. Amado-Filho and J.-C. Joyeux (2016) Mesophotic fishes of the Abrolhos Shelf, the largest reef ecosystem in the South Atlantic. J. Fish Biol. 89:990-1001. DOI: 10.1111/jfb.12967
Comments On Pronotogrammus martinicensis