Species: Stephanolepis setifer, Pigmy filefish
snout short, profile concave
male D2 - filamentous ray
Stephanolepis setifer (Bennett, 1831)
Pigmy filefish
Body deep, compressed; a relatively short pointed snout; snout profile slightly concave; a small mouth that opens at front; teeth moderately strong, six in outer row on top jaws and six in a single row on bottom jaws; gill opening a short slit on side before pectoral base; 2 dorsal fins, 1st with II spines, 1st spine over rear 1/2 of eye, long, with hooked spines along its rear edge, does not fold down into a deep groove, erectile, can be locked in position by small 2nd spine, second dorsal fin ray elongate in male, 27-29 (27-30); anal fin 27-29 (26-30); pelvic fin rudiment evident as a spine protruding from a group of enlarged scales, those scales flexible dorsoventrally; scales minute, innumerable, skin rough; tail base without spines, its skin same as that on rest of body; male with patch of bristles on tail base; skin flap between pelvis and anus relatively small.
Color variable, brown to tan, with irregular bars and blotches of darker and lighter color; body often with narrow incomplete stripes formed by dark spots and streaks; tail fin with 2 indistinct dark bars.
Reaches 20 cm.
Lives in seagrass beds and on sand and mud bottoms; often with floating sargassum.
Depth range: 1-80 m.
N Carolina to Brazil.
High Resolution Map Download
- Salinity
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- Marine
- Marine Only
- Inshore/Offshore
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- Inshore
- Inshore Only
- Water Column Position
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- Bottom
- Habitat
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- Sand & gravel
- Soft bottom only
- Soft bottom (mud/sand/gravel/beach/estuary/mangrove/seagrass)
- Submerged vegetation
- Mud
- Reef associated (reef + edges-water column & soft bottom)
- FishBase Habitat
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- Demersal
- Feeding Group
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- Omnivore
- Data
- Diet
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- Data
- Mobile benthic crustacea (shrimps/crabs)
- Benthic macroalgae/seagrasses
- Sponges/seasquirts/bryozoa
- Hard corals
- Egg Type
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- Pelagic larva
- Data
- Benthic
- Global Endemism
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- Greater Caribbean non-endemic
- West Atlantic Endemic
- Regional Endemism
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- Continent
- Extends South of GC
- Continent + Island (s)
- GC non-endemic
- Extends N + S of GC
- Island (s)
- Also in Brazil
- Extends North of GC
- 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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- Not evaluated / Listed
- CITES
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- Not listed
- Length Max (cm)
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- 20
- Depth Range Min (m)
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- 1
- Depth Range Max (m)
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- 80
