Common Name
Red Barbier
Year Described
Jordan & Swain, 1885
Identification
Dorsal Fin: X, 13-14 (usually 14)
Anal Fin: III, 8-9 (usually 8)
Pelvic Fin: I, 5
Pectoral Fin: 16-21
Lateral Line Scales: 44-53 (tubed)
Gill Rakers: 10-13 in upper, 27-31 in lower limb of first arch; 38-43 total
Moderately slender body, head 28-32% SL, and eye large (7-11% SL). Orbit longer than snout. Mouth oblique and strongly upturned. Upper and lower jaws both with conical teeth, including larger canines anteriorly. Vomerine tooth patch chevron-shaped to triangular, without a posterior extension. Tongue without teeth. Anterior nostril with a flap but not a filament. Rear of head and maxilla covered in scales. Most of snout, most or all of interorbital, gular region, maxilla, and surrounding area scaleless. Lateral line continuous. Scales around caudal peduncle 24-29. A distinct notch at boundary of spiny and soft dorsal fin. Dorsal spine membranes extended as long filaments (middle ones up to 65% of SL). Caudal fin deeply forked, with highly filamentous outer rays (to 70% SL). Pelvic fin short (28-38% SL).
Color
Bright red to magenta, becoming paler below. Yellow blotches and spots scattered over the body and head. Two obvious yellow stripes on head below and through eye, with other faint radiating yellow stripes in large males. Mature fish often have a bluish wash over the dorsum under the dorsal fin. Large males have a sky blue anterior dorsal fin (and filaments) and a darker blue soft dorsal fin. The anal fin is bright yellow and the pelvic fin is yellow with the posterior two-thirds being bright red. Females and smaller males have a reddish dorsal fin with yellow markings, an olive anal fin with blue markings, and a pinkish pelvic fin. The caudal fin is pink to bluish.
Size
Adults common to 11cm SL. Maximum size to 15cm SL.
Habitat
Forms large schools over hard bottoms (20-430m).
Range
Continental coast from New Jersey to S. Brazil, including the Gulf of Mexico. Also the Bahamas but not the balance of the Caribbean islands.
References
Anderson, W. D., Jr. & Heemstra, P. C. 2012. Review of Atlantic and eastern Pacific anthiine fishes (Teleostei: Perciformes: Serranidae), with descriptions of two new genera. Transactions of the American Philosophical Society, 102 (2): 1-173.
Heemstra, P.C., Anderson, W.D. Jr., and P.S. Lobel. 2002. Serranidae. In: FAO Species Identification Guide to Fishes of the Western Atlantic. (ed. Carpenter K), pp. 1308–1369. UN FAO Publishers, Rome.