Common Name
Tattler Bass
Year Described
Poey, 1851
Identification
Dorsal Fin: X, 12
Anal Fin: III, 7
Pelvic Fin: I, 5
Pectoral Fin: 15-16
Caudal Fin: 13-15 branched rays
Lateral Line Scales: 47-51
Gill Rakers: 17-20
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, relatively fusiforme, and moderately compressed. Snout shorter than eye. Maxilla exposed. Accessory bone absent. Opercular spines well developed with middle spine longest and straight. Tail edge blunt. Scales large and strongly ctenoid. Top of head without scales. 6-7 scale rows on cheek.
Color
Body whitish with a faint cross-hatched pattern formed by darker scale borders. Rear half of body with a distinctive T-shaped marking created by a reddish brown midbody band and a midlateral stripe. Lateral stripe with several impartial bands that are darker ventrally. Other bands are fainter and indistinct. Head with a dark triangular band below eye. Lateral line with spots along length. Dorsal fin with a continuation of the midbody band but otherwise pale with indistinct cloudy markings. Other fins pale whitish to yellowish. Eye yellowish to brown.
Size
Maximum size to 150mm SL.
Habitat
Deep coral reefs or mesophotic on soft to hard bottoms from 27-402m. Usually near or off the bottom.
Range
North Carolina and Bermuda to S. Brazil, including the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea.
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.