Common Name
Blue-backed Basslet
Year Described
Tornabene, Robertson, & Baldwin, 2018
Identification
Dorsal Fin: XII, 9
Anal Fin: III, 7-8
Pelvic Fin: I, 5
Pectoral Fin: 15-16
Caudal Rays: 9+8 principal, and 3 upper and lower procurrent and 1 hybrid ray
Gill Rakers: 18-20 total (many rudiments present)
Vertebrae: 10 precaudal, 15 caudal; 25 total
Lateral Scale Rows: ~22-25
Body stout and rectangular, with pointed snout. Lateral line absent. Preopercular margin smooth. Pelvic fin extends well past anal fin origin when depressed. Caudal fin with prominent extended lobes.
Color
Body yellowish with a blue wash over the upper head running posteriorly to under dorsal fin. Eye blue with yellow markings A bright yellow band runs from snout to under eye and is bordered by blue bands. A conspicuous black ocellus ringed in blue on the back under the dorsal fin origin, and a second smaller one on the rear base of the soft dorsal fin. Median fins bluish with yellow spots along the rays. Dorsal and anal fins with submarginal yellow stripes and blue margins. Pelvic fins pale with yellow spots. Pectoral fin clear.
Size
Maximum known size to 27mm.
Habitat
Deep reef habitats from 122-165m. Found within steep rocky areas and on walls.
Range
Known only from off Roatan, Honduras.
References
Tornabene, L., Robertson, D.R., & C.C. Baldwin. 2018. A new species of Lipogramma from deep reefs of Roatan, Honduras (Teleostei, Grammatidae). ZooKeys, (809), 79.