Common Name
Antillean Armored Searobin
Year Described
undescribed
Identification
Dorsal Fin: VIII, 18-19
Anal Fin: 19
Pectoral Fin: 12 + 2 free rays
Gill Rakers:
Body elongate and flattened ventrally, with four rows of thick, heavy scales forming an armor-like covering. Body rounded. Head quite slender with head not being much wider than body at anus. Head with long, flattened duck-bill snout about the width of eyes and squared-off at tip. Rostral projections very long (almost snout length), thin, and slightly divergent. Head heavily armored. Edges of snout and head smooth. Edge of head narrow with not much of a bony shelf. Edge of head ending in a sharp spine. Eye moderate. Interorbital distance wide. No spines at snout base or at nostril. 5-7 short lip barbels in two clusters. There are 34-57 short chin barbels in six clusters. Longest barbels do not reach beyond head margin. Dorsal fins separated: the first small and second long-based. Anal fin about the same length as dorsal fin. Pectoral fins moderate and fan-like with two long free rays that are used to interact/crawl along the seafloor. Pelvic fins small and widely separated under pectoral base. Caudal fin truncate.
Color
Head and body whitish with red blotches and marbling and golden yellow spots and blotches. Belly whitish. Pectoral fins red basally and yellow over most of fin. Dorsal fins pale. Caudal fin pale basally and red distally. Eye yellow.
Size
Maximum size to 19cm SL.
Habitat
Found on soft bottoms from 220-550m.
Range
Bahamas to the L. Antilles, and Belize to Nicaragua on the continental coast.
References
Miller, G.C. & W.J. Richards. 2003. Peristediidae. Armoured searobins (armoured gurnards). p. 1278-1285. In: K.E. Carpenter (ed.) FAO species identification guide for fishery purposes. The living marine resources of the Western Central Atlantic. Vol. 2: Bony fishes part 1 (Acipenseridae to Grammatidae).
Other Notes
An undescribed species allied with gracilis/imberbe.