Species: Schultzea beta, School Bass

Schultzea beta (Hildebrand, 1940)

School Bass

Head and body elongate; head long and pointed; mouth very protrusible, extends to under middle of eye; front and rear nostrils moderately separated, rear nostril with a flap; rear of top jaw exposed when mouth closed, without accessory bone above it; no teeth on jaws or roof of mouth; preoperculum angular, serrated, serrae at corner enlarged; operculum with 3 close-set spines, middle spine straight; gill rakers long, 29-39; dorsal fin X, 11-12 soft rays, a notch between spines and rays; anal fin III, 6-8; tail fin forked; scales rough, none on head, 48-56 with pores on lateral line.

Red-brown above, silvery-white below; snout yellowish; a dark bar under eye; 3 brown stripes along back and mid-side of body, central stripe from snout throught eye to center of tail base, a row of whitish blotches between each pair of stripes; end of upper and lower tail base with a dark spot, bordered before and behind with a whitish spot; tail fin translucent yellowish.

Reaches 15.5 cm.

Lives on reefs.

Depth range: 21-170 m.

N Carolina to the S Caribbean.