Common Name
Jarocho Hamlet
Year Described
Tavera & Acero, 2013
Identification
Dorsal Fin: X, 14-15
Anal Fin: III, 7
Pectoral Fin: 13
Pelvic Fin: I, 5
Lateral Line: 55-57
Gill Rakers: 14-16 (first arch)
Body robust and laterally compressed. Steeply sloping head profile. Dorsal fin continuous with no obvious notch between spiny and soft portions. Anal fin much smaller than dorsal fin. Caudal fin is typically truncate to slightly emarginate. The mouth is large and terminal, with the lower jaw often slightly projecting. Jaws bear villiform teeth, with an inner band of enlarged canines. Scales are ctenoid and cover the body and much of the head. The lateral line is continuous and curves gently along the upper body.
Color
Body brown with four diffuse dark bands on the posterior part of the body. Head with a faint triangular band under eye and numerous bright blue spots and lines. Blue lines on pre-pelvic region and a blue spot on the upper opercular margin. Fins pale brown with orangish speckles following the fin rays. Pelvic fin dark brown with a blue anterior margin.
Size
Maximum size to 104mm SL.
Habitat
Shallow coral reefs.
Range
Known only from the southern Gulf of Mexico (Tuxpan bank and Lobos Is. in the Veracruz reef system).
References
Tavera, J. and A. Acero P. 2013. Description of a new species of Hypoplectrus (Perciformes: Serranidae) from the southern Gulf of Mexico. aqua, International Journal of Ichthyology v. 19 (no. 1): 29-38.