Species: Erythrocles monodi, Atlantic Rubyfish, Crimson Rover

Erythrocles monodi Poll & Cadenat, 1954

Crimson Rover, Atlantic Rubyfish

Body elongate, oblong, compressed, depth 24-27% SL; head large, pointed, length 29-33% SL; mouth highly protrusible; rear bone of top jaw expanded, scaled, exposed when mouth is closed; jaws toothless or with a few minute conical teeth; rear edge of opercle with 2-3 flat points; lower corner of preopercle rounded, projecting a little to rear as a thin plate; preopercle smooth to weakly serrated; gill rakers long and numerous (33-44); dorsal fin deeply notched but not separated between the two parts, XI, 11-12; anal fin III, 9-10; pectoral fin 18-20; pelvics I, 5; tail base of large fish with a fleshy keel on each side; tail fin strongly forked; head and body covered with small, finely rough scales; soft dorsal and anal fins with a scaly sheath at the base, which covers most of last 2-3 rays; head and tail fin base scaled; lateral line with 68-73 tubed scales.

Head and body silvery red, paler below; fins reddish to pinkish white; iris red.

Reaches 65 cm.

Pelagic over sand-mud bottoms at 45-300 m.

E and W Atlantic; Georgia to the S Caribbean.