Serranus atrobranchus
Blackear 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)
Serranus
Serranus atrobranchus (Blackear Bass)
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
Weak spines on operculum, scales on head, black lanceolate mark on inner side of operculum. Maxilla extends to about anterior margin of pupil. Nares are close set, with moderate-sized flap extending from posterior margin of anterior naris. Jaw teeth are villiform and arranged in bands narrowing posteriorly (to a single row in lower jaw), with enlarged conical and recurved teeth in outer row of both jaws. Vomerine and palatine teeth are granular and arranged in V-shaped patch and narrow band, respectively. Preoperculum forms obtuse angle and has serrated margin, with serrae largest at corner. Suboperculum has smooth margin. Operculum has three weak spines, with upper and lower ones hidden by scales. Gill rakers on first arch number 15 to 20. Measurements are expressed as percent of SL: head length 35%–38%, snout length 8%–10%, eye diameter 11%–13%, body depth 33%–35%. Pectoral fin is long and has 15 to 17 rays. Dorsal fin is unnotched and has 10 spines and 12 rays. Anal fin has 7 rays (3 spines implied but not stated). Caudal fin is emarginate to slightly concave. Scales are weakly ctenoid, rather deciduous, and occur on nape, occiput, posterior aspect of interorbital region, operculum, and cheek. Scales encircling caudal peduncle number 22 to 25. Pored lateral line scales number 44 to 47, and rows of cheek scales number five.
Color is brown dorsally and light tan ventrally, with black lanceolate mark on inner surface of operculum, visible externally, and faint dusky bar from base of eighth or ninth dorsal fin spine to belly.
Distribution
Western Atlantic from the northern Gulf of Mexico to northern Brazil, including the Antilles.
Found throughout the Gulf of Mexico
Habitat Associations
Occurs between 18 and 276 m
Biology
Maximum known size is 90 mm SL
Synchronously hermaphroditic.
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC), assessed 2012-08-23. Resilience: Medium (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
References
Longley and Hildebrand 1941 (as Prionodes atrobranchus)
Ginsburg 1952a (as Paracentropristis pomospilus and P. atrobranchus)
Hildebrand 1954
Robins and Stark 1961
Hoese and Moore, 1977, 1998
Robins and Ray 1986
Boschung 1992
Schaldach et al. 1997
Castro-Aguirre et al. 1999
Heemstra 2002c
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.
Figueiredo, J.L., A.P.D. Santos, N. Yamaguti, R.A. Bernardes and C.L. Del Bianco Rossi-Wongtschowski (2002) Peixes da zona econômica exclusiva da Região Sudeste-Sul do Brasil: Levantamento com Rede de Meia-Água. São-Paulo: Editora da Universidade de São Paulo; Imprensa Oficial do Estado, 242 p.
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 Serranus atrobranchus