Species: Bembrops quadrisella, Saddleback Duckbill, Saddleback Flathead

Bembrops quadrisella Thompson & Suttkus, 1998

Saddleback Duckbill, Saddleback Flathead

Body relatively robust; head depressed; snout short (=/>eye); eye large, above, close-set; lower jaw strongly projecting, often with lower teeth exposed; top jawbone with a short (2.1 (1.4-2.7)% SL) rear tentacle; jaw teeth simple; teeth present on center and sides of roof of mouth; gill rakers 20 (19-23); 2 diverging spines at top of operculum, a 3rd at lower corner, with an elongate flap behind it, preoperculum with 2 broad spines at its angle; two dorsal fins, VI (front spines crowded), 2nd spine not elongate in male + 16 (15-17) anal fin 0, 18 (16-19); pectoral fin long and wide, 26-27 (25-28)rays; pelvic fins I, 5, under operculum, wide between those fins; tail fin straight, with 10-11 branched rays; scales rough on head and body; lateral line arched at front; a spine at front of lateral line, a prominent keel on first few lateral line scales; lateral line 60-61 (57-65) scales; no scales on top surface of eye.

Upper body with 4 wide black saddles between origin of dorsal fin and end of tail base; 1st dorsal fin with a black spot at base of 1st membrane, a black stripe near the outer margin with triangular extensions down onto membranes 1 & 2, scattered dark dots over much of rest of membrane; 2nd dorsal fin with dusky membranes, white stripes and some black at base of front membrane; tail fin of female with ocellus on upper fin base, of male with rear and bottom margins dark; anal fin of female with white pigment on membranes, outer ½-2/3 of fin black.

Reaches 26.8 cm.

On the bottom.

Depth range: 290-914 m.

Central Caribbean to Suriname.