Serranus subligarius
Belted Sandfish
NS
GNR
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)
Serranus
Serranus subligarius (Belted Sandfish)
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
Opercular spines well-developed; dorsal profile of head strongly sloping and straight to slightly concave; nares close set with large flap extending from posterior margin of anterior naris; maxilla extends to about center of eye; jaw teeth villiform in bands that narrow posteriorly with outer row enlarged and slightly recurved; vomerine teeth in triangular patch; palatine teeth in narrow band; preoperculum rounded at corner with serrae on margin; interoperculum margin smooth; middle opercular spine straight; gill rakers on first arch short, 15-19; head length 40%-44% SL; snout length 10%-11% SL; eye diameter 9%-10% SL; body depth 34%-39% SL; pectoral fin large with 15-17 rays; dorsal fin with 10 spines and 12-14 rays; anal fin with 7 rays, second spine longer and thicker than third; caudal fin truncate with rounded corners; scales ctenoid and adherent on trunk, nape, operculum, and cheek but not on occiput or interorbital region; interradial membrane of dorsal and anal fins scaled along basal section; scales encircling caudal peduncle 24-28; pored lateral line scales 42-46; scale rows on cheek 10-12
Reddish brown with series of broad dark bands extending to ventral midline except on sharply defined white belly; center of each scale slightly lighter than margin; large black blotch on anterior portion of rayed section of dorsal fin and flank below; rayed sections of dorsal and anal fins and pectoral and caudal fins finely banded
Distribution
Western Atlantic from North Carolina to the northern Gulf of Mexico
In the Gulf of Mexico from southern Florida to Vera Cruz
Habitat Associations
Occurs between 2 and 80 m
Rare in the Florida Keys and clear waters of southern Florida
Biology
Maximum known size is 100 mm TL
Occurs from water's edge to at least 18 m depth, often in silty water. Synchronously hermaphroditic. Not a coral-reef species (Ref. 26938).
Reproductive mode: true hermaphroditism; fertilization: external; nonguarders. Pelagic spawner.
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC), assessed 2012-08-24. Resilience: High (K=0.57; tmax=5).
Commercial or Environmental Importance
Fisheries: commercial.
References
Ginsburg 1952a
Robins and Stark 1961
Hoese and Moore 1977
Hoese and Moore 1998
Hastings and Bortone 1980
Robins and Ray 1986
Bullock and Smith 1991
Boschung 1992
Schaldach et al. 1997
Smith 1997
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.
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.
Oliver, A.S. (1997) Size and density dependent mating tactics in the simultaneously hermaphrodistic seabass Serranus subligarius (Cope, 1870). Behaviour 134(7-8):563-594.
Comments On Serranus subligarius