Genus: Kyphosus, Nibblers, Rudderfishes, Sea Chub, Seachubs

KYPHOSUS

SEACHUBS, NIBBLERS, RUDDERFISHES

Body oval, compressed; small pointed head; mouth small, horizontal and opens at the front; 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; dorsal fin continuous, not notched, XI spines that fold down into a scaly groove; anal fin III; tail fin forked; paired fins are relatively short; origin of the pelvics behind the base of the pectoral fin; scales small, thick and rough, covering the body & head, except forward of the eyes and soft portions of the median fins.

A circumglobal genus of 11 species in tropical and subtropical waters; with 2 W Atlantic species and 2 near-circumtropical in the Greater Caribbean.