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Species: Kyphosus bigibbus, Darkfin Sea Chub, Gray Sea Chub

All Families:   All Genera:   All Species:

body plain grey
fins dark
gill rakers 19-23
LL 51-60 pored scales
soft D & A: medium height
line along A border extends along top C edge

Kyphosus bigibbus Lacepede, 1801

Darkfin Sea Chub, Gray Sea Chub

Body oval, compressed; small pointed head; snout relatively short, no distinct hump before eye; mouth small, opens at front, slightly oblique; 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 22 (19-23 = 5-8+13-17); dorsal fin continuous, XI spines that fold down into a scaly groove, 11-12 rays; tail fin forked, but not deeply; anal rays III, 10-12; soft dorsal and anal fins moderately high; anal fin with long base (18.1-24.8% SL), a line drawn along its lower edge of soft fin extending back along upper edge of tail fin; pectoral fin relatively short (13.6-21.3% SL); 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; scales present between eyes; lateral line scales 61-76, 51-60 with pores; longitudinal scales 54-70 (the row from the edge of the operculum to the end of the tail base, where it lies immediately under the lateral line scale row); cheek scales 9-16.

Plain grey to brownish, silvery below, back with bronze to greenish tone, body with weak dark stripes; cheek and area below eye usually with a whitish streak; dorsal & anal fins often dark, soft parts with black edges; dark patch sometimes present at lower rear corner of pectoral fin base; tail fin often dark.

Size: attains 60 cm.

Habitat: rocky areas, coral reefs.

Depth: 0-40 m?

The Indo-central Pacific and scattered localities in the east, central and NW Atlantic; known fromBermuda to the southern Caribbean; also in Brazil

Note: Easily confused with K. sectatrix, the Bermuda sea-chub (also known as the beaked sea-chub). However, K. sectatrix has more gill rakers (26 (23-38)), and does not have dark fins.


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Salinity
  • Marine
  • Marine Only
Inshore/Offshore
  • Inshore
  • Inshore Only
Water Column Position
  • Bottom
  • Bottom + water column
  • Mid Water
  • Surface
Habitat
  • Reef only
  • Rocks
  • Water column
  • Flotsam
  • Reef (rock/coral/oyster)
  • Reef associated (reef + edges-water column & soft bottom)
FishBase Habitat
  • Reef Associated
Feeding Group
  • Data
  • Herbivore
  • Omnivore
Diet
  • Data
  • Benthic macroalgae/seagrasses
  • Benthic microalgae
  • Mobile benthic worms
Egg Type
  • Data
  • Pelagic
  • Pelagic larva
Global Endemism
  • All species
  • Circumtropical ( Indian + Pacific + Atlantic Oceans)
  • Greater Caribbean non-endemic
Regional Endemism
  • Also in Brazil
  • Continent
  • Continent + Island (s)
  • 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)
  • Tropical (10-23N, Nicaragua / Cuba)
IUCN Red List
  • Least concern
  • Listed
CITES
  • Not listed
Length Max
  • 60
Depth Range Min
  • 0
Depth Range Max
  • 40