Species: Calamus nodosus, Knobbed porgy

snout & cheeks purple + yellow spots
blue line under eye

knob over nostrils
no enlarged canines
Calamus nodosus Randall & Caldwell, 1966
Knobbed porgy
Body compressed, oval, very deep; head deep, upper profile very steep (57-65 degrees); forehead humped in large adults; rear nostril slit-like; a well developed bony knob above rear nostril; large mouth with thick lips, heavy lower jaw; bone under front of eye overlapsrear bone of top jaw; equal-sized (none enlarged) canine teeth at front of both jaws; molar teeth on sides of jaws (3 rows above, 2 below); preopercle border smooth; dorsal fin low, XII-XIII, 12 (11-13); anal fin short, III short spines, 10-11 soft rays; pectoral fins 14 (rarely15) rays, long, reaching to or past front third of anal fin base; cheeks and opercles scaly, but no scales on snout or between the eye and mouth; lateral line scales 55-57.
Pinkish silver, with the scale centers iridescent bluish; snout and cheeks purplish with bronze spots; an iridescent blue stripe under eye; a diffuse blue spot on upper base of pectoral fin.
Size: to 54 cm.
Habitat: lives on reefs, hard bottoms and adjacent sand, rubble and seagrass bottoms.
Depth: 9-108 m.
N Carolina to the tip of the Yucatan peninsula.

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
- Soft bottom (mud/sand/gravel/beach/estuary/mangrove/seagrass)
- Rocks
- Reef and soft bottom
- Corals
- Reef (rock/coral/oyster)
- Sand & gravel
- Reef associated (reef + edges-water column & soft bottom)
- FishBase Habitat
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- Reef Associated
- Demersal
- Feeding Group
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- Data
- Carnivore
- Diet
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- Data
- Mobile benthic worms
- Mobile benthic gastropods/bivalves
- Mobile benthic crustacea (shrimps/crabs)
- Octopus/squid/cuttlefish
- Egg Type
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- Data
- Pelagic
- Pelagic larva
- Global Endemism
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- West Atlantic Endemic
- Greater Caribbean endemic
- All species.
- Regional Endemism
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- All species..
- Extends North of GC
- GC endemic
- Continent only
- Continent
- Residency
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- Resident
- Climate Zone
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- Tropical (10-23N, Nicaragua / Cuba)
- Subtropical (23-35N, Florida / Carolinas / Bermuda)
- IUCN Red List
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- Least concern
- Listed
- CITES
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- Not listed
- Depth Range Min
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- 9
- Depth Range Max
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- 108
- Length Max
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- 54