Species: Astrapogon stellatus, Conchfish cardinalfish, the Conchfish
pelvics reach rear 1/3 A base
Astrapogon stellatus (Cope, 1867)
Conchfish
Body oblong, relatively elongate, compressed; head large, snout relatively long; head profile over eye straight; rear nostril round; eye large; moderately large oblique mouth that opens at the front; top jaw wide, partly concealed when mouth is closed, scaleless; teeth small, usually present on center and sides of roof of mouth; preopercle edge smooth; 1+10-11 gill rakers; dorsal fin VI +I, 9; anal fin II, 8; pectoral fin rays 15 (rarely 14 or 16); inner pelvic ray mostly not attached to body; pelvics large, reaching to rear 1/3 of anal fin; tail fin bluntly straight to slightly convex; 23-45 pored lateral line scales; lateral line complete, extends onto base of tail fin; body scales smooth; no row of scales on nape centerline before dorsal fin.
Head and body bronze to black, with dark lines and blotches radiating from back from eye; body heavily stippled with black dots, with a row of black dots along mid-side; fins stippled with black, pelvics blackish; rear edges of 2nd dorsal, tail and anal fins dark.
Reaches 8 cm.
Found in seagrass beds, in tube sponges & in the mantle cavity of live conchs.
Depth range: 0-40 m.
Bermuda to Brazil.
High Resolution Map Download
- Salinity
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- Marine
- Marine Only
- Inshore/Offshore
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- Inshore Only
- Inshore
- Water Column Position
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- Bottom
- Habitat
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- Submerged vegetation
- Reef (rock/coral/oyster)
- Reef associated (reef + edges-water column & soft bottom)
- Soft bottom (mud/sand/gravel/beach/estuary/mangrove/seagrass)
- Reef and soft bottom
- FishBase Habitat
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- Reef Associated
- Feeding Group
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- Carnivore
- Data
- Diet
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- Data
- Mobile benthic crustacea (shrimps/crabs)
- Egg Type
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- Data
- Brooded
- Pelagic larva
- Global Endemism
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- All species.
- Greater Caribbean non-endemic
- West Atlantic Endemic
- Regional Endemism
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- All species..
- GC non-endemic
- Continent + Island (s)
- Also in Brazil
- Extends South of GC
- Island (s)
- Continent
- Residency
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- Resident
- Climate Zone
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- Equatorial (0-10N, Costa Rica / Venezuela)
- Subtropical (23-35N, Florida / Carolinas / Bermuda)
- Tropical (10-23N, Nicaragua / Cuba)
- IUCN Red List
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- Data deficient
- Listed
- CITES
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- Not listed
- Length Max
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- 8
- Depth Range Min
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- 0
- Depth Range Max
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- 40
