Hypoplectrus puella

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Hypoplectrus puella
Hypoplectrus puella.jpg
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Perciformes
Family: Serranidae
Subfamily: Serraninae
Genus: Hypoplectrus
Species:
H. puella
Binomial name
Hypoplectrus puella
(Cuvier, 1828)
Synonyms [2]
  • Plectropoma puellaCuvier, 1828
  • Plectropoma vitulinum Poey, 1852
  • Hypoplectrus vitulinus(Poey, 1852)

Hypoplectrus puella, the barred hamlet is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a sea bass from the subfamily Serraninae which is part of the family Serranidae, which also includes the groupers and anthias. This species is from the Western Central Atlantic. It occasionally makes its way into the aquarium trade.

Contents

Description

Hypoplectrus puella has a deep body and head which is highly laterally compressed with a straight forehead and a rather short snout and a protrusible upper jaw. It has an angular preoperculum which has serrations on its edge and a number of small forward pointing spines on its lower margin close to the angle. The continuous dorsal fin has ten spines and 14–17 soft rays. It has long pelvic fins which extend as far as or beyond the anus. The caudal fin is slightly forked. [3] This species has a pale yellowish to tan head and body which is marked with as many as 7 dark brown vertical bars which are variable in their number, darkness and length. They are predominant coloured browns and yellow, although some fishes show blue hues. Their large and noticeable pelvic fins vary in colour from yellow to dark bluish brown. They may also have thin, iridescent blue lines on the head and, rarely, these are also on the body. [4] This species attains a maximum published total length of 14.2 centimetres (5.6 in). [2]

Distribution

Hypoplectrus puella is found in the central western Atlantic Ocean and is the most numerous and widespread species in the genus Hypoplectrus . Its range extends from Bermuda south to the Florida Keys and the Bahamas, into the Gulf of Mexico and from Tuxpan in Mexico along the northern coast of the Yucatan Peninsula to northwestern Cuba, and the whole of the Caribbean Sea. [1]

Habitat and biology

Hypoplectrus puella is a solitary species [2] which can be found over rocky or coral reefs close to hiding places. Unlike other species of hamlet this species may be found in turbid water. It is found at depths of between 3 and 90 metres (9.8 and 295.3 ft). The species in the genus Hypoplectrus are synchronous hermaphrodites and they have the ability to move between "male" and "female" roles when spawning. [1] The juveniles are found in beds of sea grass. [3] In Panama this species has been observed following feeding schools of the striped parrotfish (Scarus iseri) taking advantage of the disturbance the parrotfish school causes to prey species as they forage across the substrate, disturbing and grazing on the algal gardens of territorial damselfishes. Individuals of H. puella which associate with schools of parrotfish are much more successful in catching prey than solitarily hunting individuals. It has been proposed that the hamlet is a mimic of the some species of parrot fish but the resemblance is more in the similarity in colour but they are different in body shape.( [4] This is a carnivorous species which feeds on other fishes and non-sessile benthic crustaceans. [3] They are crepuscular, feeding mainly at dusk and sheltering in caves or crevices during the day. [5]

Taxonomy

Hypoplectrus puella was first formally described in 1828 as Plectropoma puella by the French anatomist and naturalist Georges Cuvier (1769-1832) from a type collected at Martinique. In 2012 two new species of "barred hamlet", Hypoplectrus ecosur from the Yucatan and H. floridae from the eastern Gulf of Mexico, were described. [6]

Utilisation

Hypoplectrus puella is found in the aquarium trade and is bred in commercial breeding facilities. [5]

Related Research Articles

<i>Hypoplectrus</i> Genus of fishes

Hypoplectrus is a genus of fishes commonly known as hamlets, found mainly in coral reefs in the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico, particularly around Florida and the Bahamas. They are a popular choice for hobbyist saltwater aquariums, and come in a variety of colors.

<i>Mycteroperca bonaci</i> Species of fish

Mycteroperca bonaci, the black grouper, black rockfish or marbled rockfish, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a grouper from the subfamily Epinephelinae which is part of the family Serranidae, which also includes the anthias and sea basses. Other fish are sometimes called the black grouper including the similar gag grouper, the misty grouper, and the critically endangered Warsaw grouper. This species is found in the western Atlantic Ocean from the northeastern United States to Brazil.

Graysby Species of fish

The graysby is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a grouper from the subfamily Epinephelinae which is in the family Serranidae which also includes the anthias and sea basses. It is found in the western Atlantic. It is associated with reefs and is a quarry species for commercial and recreational fisheries.

Belted sandfish Species of fish

The belted sandfish, also known as the dwarf sea bass or stubby sea bass, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a sea bass from the subfamily Serraninae, classified as part of the family Serranidae which includes the groupers and anthias. It is found in the western Atlantic Ocean. This species is found in the aquarium trade.

<i>Mycteroperca microlepis</i> Species of fish

Mycteroperca microlepis, the gag, gag grouper, velvet rockfish or charcoal belly, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a grouper from the subfamily Epinephelinae which is part of the family Serranidae, which also includes the anthias and sea basses. It comes from warmer parts of the West Atlantic, including the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico. It is a drab, mottled-gray fish lacking the distinguishing features of most other groupers. Its pattern of markings resemble the box-shaped spots of the black grouper. It lacks the streamer-points on the tail fin that scamp and yellowmouth grouper have, and lacks yellow coloration around the mouth.

<i>Hypoplectrus gemma</i> Species of fish

Hypoplectrus gemma, the blue hamlet, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a sea bass from the subfamily Serraninae which is part of the family Serranidae, which also includes the groupers and anthias. It is found in the western Atlantic Ocean and occasionally makes its way into the aquarium trade.

Red Sea bannerfish Species of fish

The Red Sea bannerfish is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a butterflyfish from the family Chaetodontidae. It is found in the western Indian Ocean. It has been recorded as an introduced species off Florida and as a Lessepsian migrant in the eastern Mediterranean Sea off Turkey.

<i>Stegastes variabilis</i> Species of fish

Stegastes variabilis is a damselfish in the family Pomacentridae, found on coral and rocky reefs in the Caribbean Sea and neighboring areas of the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico. They are often solitary fish.

Masked hamlet Species of fish

The masked hamlet is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a sea bass from the subfamily Serraninae which is part of the family Serranidae, which also includes the groupers and anthias. This species is found in the western Atlantic Ocean in the Caribbean Sea and has been recorded from the coast of Central America from Quintana Roo in Mexico to Bocas del Toro in Panama and from Jamaica to Puerto Rico, as well as in the Turks and Caicos and the Cayman Islands. Its specific name refers to Providencia Island, Colombia where the type was collected. It was also recorded from other islands in the Archipelago of San Andrés, Providencia and Santa Catalina. They are a unique species in the Hypoplectrus genus, defined by their unique color morph. Their behavior is largely similar to that of other hamlets, especially in their diet and egg-trading spawning patterns.

<i>Cephalopholis fulva</i> Species of fish

Cephalopholis fulva, the coney or the butterfish, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a grouper from the subfamily Epinephelinae which is in the family Serranidae which also includes the anthias and sea basses. It is found in the western Atlantic. It is associated with reefs and is a quarry species for commercial and recreational fisheries. It can be found in the aquarium trade.

<i>Epinephelus flavocaeruleus</i> Species of fish

Epinephelus flavocaeruleus, commonly called blue-and-yellow grouper, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a grouper from the subfamily Epinephelinae which is part of the family Serranidae, which also includes the anthias and sea basses. It is associated with reefs in the Indian Ocean.

<i>Hypoplectrus nigricans</i> Species of fish

Hypoplectrus nigricans, the black hamlet, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a sea bass from the subfamily Serraninae which is part of the family Serranidae, which also includes the groupers and anthias. It is native to shallow parts of the central Western Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean Sea. It grows to about 15 cm (6 in) in total length. It is a simultaneous hermaphrodite, with a breeding strategy known as egg trading. One fish acts as a female and lays a batch of eggs which the other fertilises. The following night, the roles are reversed.

<i>Hypoplectrus unicolor</i> Species of fish

Hypoplectrus unicolor, the butter hamlet or yellowtail hamlet, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a sea bass from the subfamily Serraninae which is part of the family Serranidae, which also includes the groupers and anthias. It occurs in the western central Atlantic Ocean and occasionally makes its way into the aquarium trade.

Hypoplectrus gummigutta, commonly called the golden hamlet, is a species of marine ray-finned fish. They are sea bass from the subfamily Serraninae and the greater family Serranidae, which also includes the groupers and anthias. The golden hamlet was first described in 1852 by zoologist Felipe Poey (1799-1891) as Plectropoma gummigutta before being given its accepted name: Hypoplectrus gummigutta. It is found in the western Atlantic Ocean and occasionally makes its way into the aquarium trade.

<i>Hypoplectrus indigo</i> Species of fish

Hypoplectrus indigo, the indigo hamlet, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a sea bass from the subfamily Serraninae which is part of the family Serranidae, which also includes the groupers and anthias. It is found in the central western Atlantic Ocean. It occasionally makes its way into the aquarium trade.

<i>Hypoplectrus guttavarius</i> Species of fish

The shy hamlets are small Western Atlantic serranids of the genus Hypoplectrus, which belong to the subclass perciformes in the class Actinopterygii. To this date, seventeen species of the genus have been recognized, a third of which have been discovered in the past few years.

<i>Liopropoma rubre</i> Species of fish

Liopropoma rubre, the peppermint bass or swissguard basslet, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, related to the groupers and classified within the subfamily Epinephelinae of the family Serranidae. It is found in the western Atlantic Ocean. This species is utilised in the aquarium trade.

<i>Diploprion bifasciatum</i> Species of fish

Diploprion bifasciatum, the barred soapfish, also known as the doublebanded soapfish, two banded grouper, two-banded sea perch, two-banded soapfish, yellow emperor or yellow striped grouper, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, related to the groupers and included in the subfamily Epinephelinae which is part of the family Serranidae, which also includes the anthias and sea basses. It is found in the Indo-Pacific region.

Spanish flag (fish) Species of fish

The Spanish flag is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a grouper from the subfamily Epinephelinae which is part of the family Serranidae, which also includes the anthias and sea basses. It is found in the western Atlantic Ocean. It is the only species in the genus Gonioplectrus.

<i>Conodon nobilis</i> Species of fish

Conodon nobilis, the barred grunt, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a grunt belonging to the family Haemulidae. It is found in the Western Atlantic Ocean where it is a target species for some commercial fisheries.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Anderson, W.; Carpenter, K.E.; Gilmore, G.; Milagrosa Bustamante, G.; Robertson, R. (2015). "Hypoplectrus puella". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2015: e.T16759126A16781798. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2015-2.RLTS.T16759126A16781798.en . Retrieved 19 November 2021.
  2. 1 2 3 Froese, Rainer and Pauly, Daniel, eds. (2019). "Hypoplectrus puella" in FishBase. December 2019 version.
  3. 1 2 3 "Species: Hypoplectrus indigo, Indigo hamlet". Shorefishes of the Greater Caribbean online information system. Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute. Retrieved 2 September 2020.
  4. 1 2 D. Ross Robertson (2013). "Who Resembles Whom? Mimetic and Coincidental Look-Alikes among Tropical Reef Fishes". PLOS ONE. 8 (1): e54939. Bibcode:2013PLoSO...854939R. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0054939 . PMC   3556028 . PMID   23372795.
  5. 1 2 "Barred hamlet". AquariumDomain.com. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
  6. ↑ Victor, Benjamin (2012). "Hypoplectrus floridae n. sp. and Hypoplectrus ecosur n. sp., two new Barred Hamlets from the Gulf of Mexico (Pisces: Serranidae): more than 3% different in COI mtDNA sequence from the Caribbean Hypoplectrus species flock". Journal of the Ocean Science Foundation. 5: 2–19.
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