Species: Chrionema squamentum, Scaly-chinned Duckbill, Scalychin Flathead

most of snout, lower jaw & throat scaled
Chrionema squamentum (Ginsburg, 1955)
Scalychin Flathead, Scaly-chinned Duckbill
Head depressed; eye large, above, close-set; lower jaw strongly projecting; rear of top jawbone without a tentacle; jaw teeth simple; teeth present on center and sides of roof of mouth; opercle with 2 spines; gill rakers 21-24; two dorsal fins, VI (front spines crowded) + 15-16; anal fin 0, 23-25; pectoral fin long and wide, 22-30 rays; pelvic fins I, 5, under operculum, wide between those fins; tail fin with 10-11 branched rays; scales rough on head and body; lateral line arched at front; a spine at front of lateral line, first few lateral line scales with a prominent keel; most of snout and under jaws scaled; lateral line 50-58 scales.
Pale tan; a series of oval brown blotches overlaid with yellow along lower side, large and small blotches alternating and the spots becoming smaller towards the rear; back with another row of irregular brown and yellow blotches; head pale tan, with yellow marks, a dark blotch under eye, 2 oblique elongate yellow blotches at beginning and end of upper opercle; 2 yellow marks along side of nape, iris black, with an inner yellow ring; 1st dorsal fin with yellow along its base, tip white; 2nd dorsal with a yellow base, yellow spots along outer fin, ray tips white; tail fin whitish, a round yellow spot in the center of its base, yellow streaks along the upper and lower borders; anal fin white with yellow outer edge, or translucent with a white border; pelvics with white outer edge.
Reaches 11 cm.
Lives on mud and sand bottoms.
Depth range: 115-305 m.
North Carolina to the southern Caribbean.

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
- Bottom only
- Habitat
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- Rocks
- Sand & gravel
- Soft bottom (mud/sand/gravel/beach/estuary/mangrove/seagrass)
- Mud
- Reef (rock/coral/oyster)
- Reef and soft bottom
- Reef associated (reef + edges-water column & soft bottom)
- FishBase Habitat
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- Bathydemersal
- Reef Associated
- Feeding Group
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- Carnivore
- Data
- Diet
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- Data
- Bony fishes
- Mobile benthic crustacea (shrimps/crabs)
- Egg Type
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- Data
- Pelagic
- Pelagic larva
- Global Endemism
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- All species
- Greater Caribbean endemic
- West Atlantic Endemic
- Regional Endemism
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- Continent
- Continent + Island (s)
- Extends North of GC
- GC endemic
- Island (s)
- All species
- Residency
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- Resident
- Climate Zone
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- Subtropical (23-35N, Florida / Carolinas / Bermuda)
- Temperate (>35N)
- Tropical (10-23N, Nicaragua / Cuba)
- IUCN Red List
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- Least concern
- Listed
- CITES
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- Not listed
- Length Max
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- 11
- Depth Range Min
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- 115
- Depth Range Max
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- 305