Common Name
Black Margate
Year Described
Bloch, 1791
Identification
Dorsal Fin: XII-XIII, 16-18
Anal Fin: III, 8-10
Gill Rakers: 16-18 (lower limb of first arch)
Lateral Line Scales: 50-53
Body deep with a steeply sloped forehead profile. Mouth small. Soft dorsal and anal fins scaled at base. There are 5-7 scales above the lateral line.
Color
Body silvery gray with black spots in the center of each scale forming oblique spot-bands. A large dark area posterior to the pectoral fin covers much of the trunk area above the pelvic fin base. Fins black. Eye golden.
Size
Maximum size to 60cm TL.
Habitat
Bottom dwelling on coral reefs and other hard substrates.
Range
Florida to the Lesser Antilles in the Caribbean Sea. Also continental waters from the western Gulf of Mexico to Brazil.
References
Lindeman, K.C. 2002. Haemulidae (pp. 1522-1550). In: Carpenter. 2002. The living marine resources of the Western Central Atlantic. Vol. 3: Bony fishes part 2 (Opistognathidae to Molidae). FAO Species Identification Guides for Fisheries Purposes. American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists Special Publication No. 5. FAO of the U.N., Rome.