Species: Xyrichtys splendens, Green razorfish
TP - head blue + orange bars, body green, flank 1-2 black & blue ocelli
Xyrichtys splendens Castelnau, 1855
Green razorfish
Head and body oblong, strongly compressed; head profile not very steep, snout forms a blunt point with a fleshy longitudinal keel at front; male with steeper head profile and deeper body than female; eye small, on upper ½ of head; mouth protrusible, opens at front, thick lips; rear of top jawbone not visible on cheek; toothed grinding plates in throat; both jaws with a pair of large canines at front, without rear canine tooth; 18-21 gill rakers; gill membranes fused under throat; dorsal fin IX (a slight gap after 1st 2 spines, which are long in juvenile), 12, not obviously notched between spiny and soft parts; anal fin III, 13; tail fin slightly rounded; pelvics pointed with long filaments in adult; lateral line in 2 sections, rear section on tail base, with 5 pored scales; no scales on cheek, opercle or lower jaw or on bases of dorsal and anal fins.
Juvenile: mottled yellowish brown; first two dorsal spines & pelvics dark brown; 3 brown bars on body that extend onto dorsal and anal fins, tail fin base dark brown. Female: pinkish grey, outlines of body scales dark; lower head with fine blue-white bars; iris red. Male: greenish, a vertically elongate blue spot on each scale; head bluish, with 4-5 thin orange bars on cheek; iris bright red; 1-2 black, blue-ringed spots on mid flank; dorsal reddish, anal bluish, tail fin orangish.
Size: 15 cm.
Habitat: benthic on sandy bottoms and seagrass beds.
Depth: 5-90 m.
Bermuda to the S Caribbean.
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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- Sand & gravel
- Reef associated (reef + edges-water column & soft bottom)
- Submerged vegetation
- Soft bottom (mud/sand/gravel/beach/estuary/mangrove/seagrass)
- Sea anemones
- Reef (rock/coral/oyster)
- Soft bottom only
- FishBase Habitat
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- Reef Associated
- Demersal
- Feeding Group
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- Data
- Carnivore
- Planktivore
- Diet
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- Zooplankton
- Mobile benthic crustacea (shrimps/crabs)
- Mobile benthic gastropods/bivalves
- Data
- Egg Type
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- Pelagic
- Pelagic larva
- Data
- Global Endemism
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- All species
- Greater Caribbean non-endemic
- West Atlantic Endemic
- Regional Endemism
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- GC non-endemic
- Island (s)
- Continent
- Continent + Island (s)
- Continental primarily
- All species
- Extends South of GC
- Also in Brazil
- Residency
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- Resident
- Climate Zone
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- Equatorial (0-10N, Costa Rica / Venezuela)
- Tropical (10-23N, Nicaragua / Cuba)
- Subtropical (23-35N, Florida / Carolinas / Bermuda)
- IUCN Red List
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- Listed
- Least concern
- CITES
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- Not listed
- Length Max
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- 15
- Depth Range Min
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- 5
- Depth Range Max
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- 90
