Common Name
Wrasse Bass
Year Described
Stark & Courtenay, 1962
Identification
Dorsal Fin: VIII, 12
Anal Fin: 8
Pectoral Fin: 13-14
Pelvic Fin: I, 5
Gill Rakers: 16-18 (first arch)
Lateral Line Scales: 44
Vertebrae: 24 (10 precaudal, 14 caudal)
Color
Basal body color pale rose to red, with yellow spotting on the dorsum and lower head. A dark brown to dark red lateral stripe passes through eye and widens posteriorly. This stripe is bordered dorsally and ventrally by a pale to bright yellow stripe. Another yellow stripe often runs from the rear of the eye in the middle of the dark stripe. Caudal fin the same color as the body stripe, with broad yellow borders dorsally and ventrally and many yellow spots. The posterior part of the tail has a dark blotch and a white posterior edging. Other fins are pale reddish to rose with darker anterior margins.
Size
Maximum size to 100mm TL.
Habitat
A deep reef species (20-116m) living around hard structure.
Range
North Carolina to S. Florida and the northern Gulf of Mexico.
References
McEachran, J.D. and J.D. Fechhelm. 2005. Fishes of the Gulf of Mexico. Volume 2: Scorpaeniformes to Tetraodontiformes. University of Texas Press, Austin. i-viii +1-1004.