Shorefishes of the Greater Caribbean online information system

Español  Contact

Species: Hoplostethus occidentalis, Western Roughy

All Families:   All Genera:   All Species:

D IV-VII
spiny D base < A base
LL scales: very large, diamond shaped, spineless
opercle - no spine
gill rakers 18-22
A 9
belly scutes 11-16

Hoplostethus occidentalis Woods, 1973

Western Roughy

Body oblong, compressed; head large, with extensive skin-covered sensory canals separated by spiny ridges; eyes moderate to large; snout rounded, with a pair of forward pointing spines; mouth large and oblique; an extra bone above rear of top jaw; teeth small, simple, in bands; gill rakers 18-22, 5-6 upper; preopercle with a flat triangular spine; no large spine projecting back from top corner of operculum; anus just before anal fin; 1 dorsal fin IV-VII weak, striated spines and 13 soft rays, base of spiny part shorter than anal fin base; anal fin II-III, 9 (8-10), short base; tail fin forked, with 4-8 short, spiny rays at top and bottom of its base; 11-16 (10-17) large keeled scales along midline of belly between pelvic and anal fins; body scales rough, with several rows of tiny spines, not easily shed; lateral line scales diamond shaped, much larger than surrounding scales, and without a small, flat, triangular spine.

Uniform orange red.

Reaches 21cm.

On and near the bottom.

Depth: 124-1515 m.

West Atlantic, North Carolina to southern Brazil.


High Resolution Map Download

Species Data Create Report Export as Word File Export as Excel File
Salinity
  • Marine
  • Marine Only
Inshore/Offshore
  • Offshore
  • Offshore Only
Water Column Position
  • Bottom
  • Bottom + water column
  • Near Bottom
Habitat
  • Soft bottom (mud/sand/gravel/beach/estuary/mangrove/seagrass)
  • Water column
  • Reef (rock/coral/oyster)
  • Reef and soft bottom
  • Reef associated (reef + edges-water column & soft bottom)
FishBase Habitat
  • Bentho-Pelagic
  • Reef Associated
Feeding Group
  • Carnivore
  • Data
Diet
  • Data
  • Mobile benthic crustacea (shrimps/crabs)
Egg Type
  • Data
  • Pelagic
  • Pelagic larva
Global Endemism
  • All species
  • Greater Caribbean non-endemic
  • West Atlantic Endemic
Regional Endemism
  • Also in Brazil
  • Continent
  • Continental primarily
  • Extends N + S of GC
  • Extends North of GC
  • Extends South of GC
  • GC non-endemic
  • Island (s)
  • All species
Residency
  • Resident
Climate Zone
  • Equatorial (0-10N, Costa Rica / Venezuela)
  • Subtropical (23-35N, Florida / Carolinas / Bermuda)
  • Temperate (>35N)
  • Tropical (10-23N, Nicaragua / Cuba)
IUCN Red List
  • Least concern
  • Listed
CITES
  • Not listed
Length Max
  • 21
Depth Range Min
  • 124
Depth Range Max
  • 1515