Species: Serraniculus pumilio, Pygmy Sea Bass

Serraniculus pumilio Ginsburg, 1952

Pygmy Sea Bass

Body elongate, spindle shaped; head long, pointed; front and rear nostrils close together, front nostrils with a large skin flap on rear edge; top jaw moderately protrusible, reaches under center of eye; rear of top jaw exposed when mouth closed, without accessory bone above it; bands of simple, fixed teeth on jaws and front and sides of roof of mouth; 9-13 gill rakers; preoperculum serrated on rear edge, smooth below; dorsal fin X, membranes indented between spines, 10-11 soft rays; anal fin III, 6-7; tail fin slightly rounded; lateral line parallels curved of upper body profile; lateral line scales 40-46; scales rough, extend on head to rear of eyes.

Head and body mottled with brown to red-brown; a dark bar between eyes, another from eye to snout, 2 more from eye to mouth; 2 broad irregular dark bars on body, 1 under end of spiny dorsal, the other under the end of the soft dorsal, the front bar can extend onto the spiny dorsal as a dark blotch; a strong white bar in center of belly; a row of small black spots along lateral line; dorsal fin with a row of small black spots up 1st spine; pelvics and anal fin black; tail base abruptly white; tail fin with several small black spots along its top edge, a black spot on center of its base, with a white blotch above and below that.

Reaches 8.6 cm

Lives in seagrass beds and sand and rubble bottoms, abundant in the Gulf of Mexico on the latter habitat at 19-70 m.

Depth range: 0-165 m, usually 20-80 m.

N Carolina to Guyana.