Family: GRAMMATIDAE, Basslet, Basslets, Grammas

FAMILY GRAMMATIDAE

BASSLETS, GRAMMAS

Small fish, with stout to elongate, compressed bodies; eye large, snout short; mouth at front; teeth on jaws, and front and sides of roof of mouth; preopercle serrated or smooth; opercle with 2 or less short, flat spines; gill rakers long, 15-35; dorsal fin XI-XIV, 6-10, no notch between spines and rays; anal fin III, 6-10; pectorals rounded, 14-19; pelvics I, 5, with 1st ray elongated, sometimes reaching past anal fin base; lateral line absent or in two parts, upper part ending under end of dorsal fin base, lower part on tail base.

A W Atlantic family with 2 genera and 12 species, 11 of them in our area.