Species: Cephalopholis furcifer, Atlantic creolefish
head small, both profiles convex
Cephalopholis furcifer (Valenciennes, 1828)
Atlantic creolefish
Body an elongate oval, fusiform, upper and lower body profiles equally convex; head small (< 1/3 SL); snout shorter than eye; rear of top jaw exposed when mouth closed, without accessory bone above it; gill rakers 37-38; preoperculum angular, serrated; dorsal fin with IX spines and 17-19 rays; anal rays III, 8-10; pectoral rays 19-21; tail deeply concave; flank scales rough, 69-77 on lateral line.
Adults reddish brown to purplish dorsally, pinkish below; 5-6 pale or dark spots on upper back and tail base; fins reddish. Young often bright yellow with five small dark spots on upper back.
Size: to 40 cm.
Habitat: forms midwater schools at the outer edges of reefs while feeding on plankton.
Depth: 0-128 m.
South Carolina to Brazil; the south Atlantic islands.
Note: C. colonus from the eastern Pacific is closely related and very similar in appearance.
High Resolution Map Download
- Salinity
-
- Marine
- Marine Only
- Inshore/Offshore
-
- Inshore Only
- Inshore
- Water Column Position
-
- Bottom
- Near Bottom
- Bottom + water column
- Habitat
-
- Reef (rock/coral/oyster)
- Reef only
- Rocks
- Corals
- Water column
- Reef associated (reef + edges-water column & soft bottom)
- FishBase Habitat
-
- Reef Associated
- Feeding Group
-
- Planktivore
- Data
- Diet
-
- Pelagic jellyfish/ctenophores
- Pelagic fish larvae
- Zooplankton
- Egg Type
-
- Data
- Pelagic
- Pelagic larva
- Global Endemism
-
- Greater Caribbean non-endemic
- Transatlantic (East+West Atlantic)
- Regional Endemism
-
- Continent
- GC non-endemic
- Also in Brazil
- Extends N + S of GC
- Extends North of GC
- Continent + Island (s)
- Extends South of GC
- Island (s)
- Residency
-
- Resident
- Climate Zone
-
- Subtropical (23-35N, Florida / Carolinas / Bermuda)
- Equatorial (0-10N, Costa Rica / Venezuela)
- Tropical (10-23N, Nicaragua / Cuba)
- IUCN Red List
-
- Listed
- Least concern
- CITES
-
- Not listed
- Length Max
-
- 40
- Depth Range Min
-
- 0
- Depth Range Max
-
- 128
