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. Often shows a faint orange to red blotch above the pectoral fin. Faint yellow blotches and spots scattered over the lower 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 basally with the posterior two-thirds being bright red. Females and smaller males (pictured) have a reddish body with golden markings on each scale giving an overall orange coloration. The yellow head bands are present. Dorsal and caudal fins same color as body. Pelvic and anal fin yellow with thin blue margins.
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. Reported from the Caribbean but this is likely based on an undescribed species.
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.
Other Notes
Records of Baldwinella vivanus from Curacao and the Caribbean islands likely refer to an undescribed species. This species differs greatly in male color pattern with males sharing the reddish body and yellow head stripes of B. vivanus but having more red and pink in the dorsal/caudal fin (versus largely blue), yellow filaments on these fins (versus blue), and bicolored blue and yellow anal/pelvic fins (versus yellow anal and red pelvic fin). Females are similar to B. vivanus. Both are largely mesophotic species. The species page for this form will be posted when the Caribbean species is described.