Species: Kyphosus vaigiensis, Yellow Chub, Yellow Sea Chub

Kyphosus vaigiensis (Quoy & Gaimard, 1825)

Yellow Chub, Yellow Sea Chub

Body oval, compressed; small pointed head; snout relatively long, before eye gently convex, without a bump, front head profile rounded; mouth small, horizontal and opens at the front; the top jawbone slips partially under the under-eye bone when the mouth is closed; teeth immovable incisiform, bases set horizontally in mouth, rounded tips and a curved, hockey-stick shape; teeth on center of roof of mouth and on tongue; gill rakers 29 (24-33; 5-11+16-24); dorsal fin continuous, XI (X-XI) spines that fold down into a scaly groove, 14 (13-15) rays; anal rays III, 13 (12-14); soft dorsal and anal fins relatively low, front soft rays of anal not extended, front of fin with rounded profile; tail fin forked; paired fins are relatively short; origin of the pelvics behind the base of the pectoral fin; scales small, thick and rough, covering the body & head (except forward of eyes) and soft portions of the median fins, present between eyes; lateral line scales 56-81, 56 (52-64) with pores, longitudinal scales 63 (56-76) (the row from edge of operculum to end of tail base, immediately under the lateral line scale row).

Silvery blue-grey with 23-29 gold to brassy lines along body, those above lateral line curved like that line, a gold or brassy stripe under eye.

Size: attains 48 cm.

Habitat: often occurs in large schools on rocky reefs.

Depth: 0-30 m.

Pantropical; New England to Brazil.

Note: K. incisor (W Atlantic) & K. analogus (E Pacific) are synonyms. Known elsewhere as the Golden seachub, Brassy seachub or Blue-bronze seachub.