Species: Plectranthias garrupellus, Apricot Bass

Plectranthias garrupellus Robins & Starck, 1961

Apricot Bass

Body oblong, compressed; head large, eye large; snout short; top jaw protrusible; rear of top jaw exposed when mouth is closed, without accessory bone above it; front and sides of roof of mouth with teeth, front with a V shaped patch; preopercle with 2 (1-3) strong forward pointing spines at its lower edge; gill rakers, short, 14-18; dorsal fin X, membranes notched between spines, 3rd spine elongate and with a filament at its tip, 15-17 soft rays, a weak notch between spines and rays; anal fin III, 7; pelvics short, 22-30% of standard length; pectoral 13 (12-14); tail fin bluntly straight; scales large, rough, 28-29 in lateral line; rear bone of top jaw with minute imbedded scales, snout and most of lower jaw without scales; lateral line continuous, complete.

Lower head and body reddish brown, shading to yellow below; chest and underside of head white; a darker red brown stripe from side of snout, through eye to upper operculum; iris white, with a red-brown front and rear center; a bright white stripe from upper side of snout, through top of eye, along upper side of nape and back along upper side of back where it expands as a large white bloch under junction of spiny and soft dorsal fin, then continues as a series of smaller white blotches along dorsal profile of body and caudal peduncle; top of snout, nape and back above white stripe back to the white blotch - brick red; spiny dorsal fin brick red, soft fin translucent, with a yellowish tint to base; tail fin translucent cream; anal fin translucent yellow, front part of pelvic fins white; pectoral fins translucent.

Reaches 10 cm.

Lives on rocky and rubble bottoms.

Depth range: 13-375 m.

N Carolina to the S Caribbean.