Common Name
White Margate
Year Described
Cuvier, 1830
Identification
Dorsal Fin: XII, 16-17 (usually 16)
Anal Fin: III, 7-8 (usually 8)
Gill Rakers: 21-23 (total on first arch)
Lateral Line Scales: 49-52
The largest species in the genus. Mouth large. Soft dorsal and anal fins almost completely scaled. Scale rows under lateral line oblique to body axis.
Color
Body and head brilliant silvery with faint dark spots on each scale forming oblique bands (not visible from a distance). Dorsal and caudal fins dusky to dark with a blue edge. Rest of fins pale.
Size
Common to 45cm TL. Maximum size to 75cm TL.
Habitat
Benthic over sandy bottoms and around coral reefs to 40m depth. Younger individuals school but large adults often occur in pairs.
Range
S. Florida, the E. Gulf of Mexico, and the Caribbean Sea to Brazil. Also Bermuda.
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.