Species: Diplodus caudimacula, Silver Porgy

Diplodus caudimacula (Poey, 1860)

Silver Porgy

Body deep, oval, compressed; head small, deep, snout pointed; mouth small, opens at front, barely reaches to below front edge of eye; bone under front of eye overlaps rear bone of top jaw; jaw teeth in 2 rows, strongly flattened, broad incisors at front, 3 rows of molars at sides; preopercle border smooth; 17-20 gill rakers; dorsal fin low, XII, 13-14, longest spine 47.5% of head length, 1st spine not pointing forwards; anal fin short, III short spines, 12-14 rays; pectoral long, much longer than pelvic; cheeks and opercles scaly, but no scales on snout or between the eye and mouth; 56-65 scales on lateral line.

Silvery, with 8-9 faint dark bars in small fish; a conspicuous black blotch larger than eye on upper half of tail base, extending only a little below lateral line; opercular membrane blackish.

Reaches 30 cm.

Shallow clear coastal waters over rocky and coral bottoms.

Depth range: 0-28 m.

North Carolina to the S Caribbean.

Note: Diplodus argenteus occurs in Brazil.