Common Name
Splendid Toadfish
Year Described
Collette, Starck, & Phillips, 1974
Identification
Dorsal Fin: III, 29-30
Anal Fin: 25
Pectoral Fin: 21-23
Pelvic Fin: I, 2-3
Vertebrae: 11 precaudal, 26 caudal
Lateral Line: 30-34 upper, 28-30 lower
Head flattened. No plumose tentacle above eye. Axillary pore present behind pectoral fin. No cirri between eyes. Barbels around mouth unbranched. Pectoral glands absent.
Color
Body blue-gray with many thin black stripes on head radiating from eyes and running across top of head. Body posterior to head marbled with black to dark gray. Fins with brilliant yellow borders taking up about half of fin. A thin black submarginal band inside the yellow band.
Size
Maximum size to 252mm TL.
Habitat
Benthic on coral reefs in sand caves under corals.
Range
Western Caribbean: known only from Cozumel Island, Mexico.
References
Collette, B.B. 1974. A review of the coral toadfishes of the genus Sanopus with descriptions of two new species from Cozumel Island, Mexico. Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington v. 87 (no. 18): 185-204, Pl. 1.
Collette, B.B. 1983. Two new species of coral toadfishes, family Batrachoididae, genus Sanopus, from Yucatan, Mexico, and Belize. Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington v. 96 (no. 4): 719-724.