Common Name
Slender Wenchman
Year Described
Anderson, 1966
Identification
Dorsal Fin: X, 10-11 (usually 11)
Anal Fin: III, 8
Pectoral Fin: 15-17
Gill Rakers: 8-10 upper, 19-23 lower; 28-32 total
Lateral Line Scales: 49-51
Body moderately slender and compressed. Interorbital region flat. Upper and lower jaws with a row of teeth. Vomerine teeth in a rounded arch. Palatine teeth an elongate band. Ectopterygoid teeth absent. Soft dorsal and anal fins without scales. Maxilla scaleless. No distinct notch between spiny and soft dorsal fins. Last dorsal ray longer than one anterior to it. Caudal fin forked.
Color
Dorsum bright red to pink, grading to silvery-white on the sides and belly. Eye golden. Dorsal fin red with a yellow margin. Caudal fin red basally with yellow on the distal lobes. Pectoral fin yellowish. Anal and pelvic fins pale.
Size
Maximum size to 20cm TL. Commonly to 15cm TL.
Habitat
Deep continental shelf waters (87-220m) over hard bottoms.
Range
North Carolina to Florida, and from Panama to Uruguay. Scattered records, but probably widespread.
References
Anderson, W.D. 2002. Lutjanidae (pp. 1479-1504). 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.