Common Name
Harlequin Bass
Year Described
Bloch, 1790
Identification
Dorsal Fin: X, 12
Anal Fin: III, 7
Pelvic Fin: I, 5
Pectoral Fin: 13-16
Caudal Fin: 13-15 branched rays
Lateral Line Scales: 48-51
Gill Rakers: 15-19
Vertebrae: 10 precaudal, 14 caudal; 24 total
Serranus defined by Robins & Starck (1961) with the following set of characters. Supramaxilla absent. Maxilla not covered by lachrymal. Premaxillary with a dorsal expansion. Teeth present on dentary, premaxilla, vomer, and palatine. Preopercle serrated. Opercle with three spines. Dorsal fin continuous. Caudal fin with 17 principal rays. Branchiostegal rays number 7. Snout, jaw area, and brachiostegal area naked. Scales encroach on bases of median fin membranes. Lateral line arched and continuous.
Body elongate and moderately compressed. Snout shorter than eye. Maxilla exposed. Accessory bone absent. Middle opercular spine straight. Tail edge slightly emarginate. Scales relatively large and strongly ctenoid. Top of head without scales.
Color
Dorsal half of body with a bluish-gray base color and ventral half with a yellowish base color. There are 8-9 black bands on the body from the dorsal midline to the belly, becoming darker ventrally. Interspaces are about equal to band width. Interspaces between black bars with fainter blotching. On head and pectoral region, the black bars break up into scattered black blotches with a clear yellow area in between on the side of the head. Blotches on head indistinct dorsally but bold ventrally. Dorsal fin pale with black spots surrounded by gray halos and pale yellow edging. Caudal fin with a dark basal band and numerous black spots with gray halos. Tips of each lobe yellow. Anal fin whitish with pale yellow spots and some black spots basally. Pelvic fin pale yellowish. Eye whitish and black.
Size
Maximum size to 123mm SL.
Habitat
Shallow coral reefs and sandy areas around them (0-55m). Benthic near bottom.
Range
North Carolina to the S. Caribbean Sea, including the 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.
Robins, C.R. & W.A., Starck II. 1961. Materials for a revision of Serranus and related fish genera. Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia v. 113 (no. 11): 259-314.