Species: Grammicolepis brachiusculus, Thorny Tinselfish

Grammicolepis brachiusculus Poey, 1873

Thorny Tinselfish

Body strongly compressed, oval in adult, diamond-shaped in juvenile, body depth much greater than head length; eyes large; head bones soft and thin; mouth minute, top jaw length ½ of eye diameter; jaws with a few minute conical teeth, none on roof of mouth; soft rays of dorsal, anal and pectoral unbranched; dorsal fin VI-VII + 32-35, spines relatively short in adult, 1st spine greatly elongated in juvenile; juvenile with a row of 29-34 spiny scutes at base of dorsal fin rays, 27 along bases of anal fin bases; anal fin II free spines + 33-35, 1st spine greatly elongated in juvenile, short in adult; pectoral fin 14-15 rays, much shorter than head; pelvics I, 6; tail fin long, bluntly forked, with longer top lobe, long in juveniles, shorter in adult; scales are vertically elongated, over most of head and body; tail fin long, bluntly forked, top lobe longer, 13 branched rays; young with ~10 widely scattered bony scutes on body and tail base.

Adults plain silver; juveniles silver, with irregular black spots on body and tail fin, a series of thin black bars along upper back,3-5 black bars on anal fin.

Reaches 64 cm.

Pelagic.

Depth range: 250-1511 m.

Worldwide in temperate to tropical areas; Georges Bank to central Brazil in the west Atlantic.