Common Name
Campeche Bank Hamlet
Year Described
Puebla, Aguilar-Perera, Robertson & Domínguez-Domínguez, 2025
Identification
Dorsal Fin: X, 15
Anal Fin: III, 7
Pectoral Fin: 13
Pelvic Fin: I, 5
Lateral Line:
Gill Rakers:
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 pale blue to pearly white with many close-set, thin yellow bands. Head with several line markings that become blue or turquoise on snout. Black blotch on snout about the same size as eye. No eye patch or band. Large black blotch on caudal peduncle runs onto rear of body and the rear of soft dorsal fin. Dorsal fin pale yellow with pearly markings. Anal and pelvic fins yellow. Caudal fin pale. Eye orange to yellow.
Size
Maximum known size 97.6 mm TL.
Habitat
Coral reefs from 1-20m.
Range
Endemic to the S. Gulf of Mexico on the Campeche Bank (Alacranes Reef, Triángulo Este, Triángulo Oeste, Cayo Arenas, and Cayo Arcas).
References
Puebla, O., A. Aguilar-Perera, M. Helmkampf, D. R. Robertson, C. J. Estapé, A. M. Estapé & O. Domínguez-Domínguez. 2025. Hypoplectrus espinosai sp. nov. (Teleostei: Serranidae), a new hamlet on coral reefs in the southwestern Gulf of Mexico. Zootaxa 5618 (no. 4): 509-524.
Other Notes
Geographically separated from the similar Hypoplectrus unicolor and H. castroaguirrei, from which it differs genetically and by the consistent color pattern of distinct vertical lines and a larger blotch on the caudal peduncle that runs onto dorsal fin.