Shorefishes of the Eastern Pacific online information system

Español  Contact

Species: Alphestes immaculatus, Pacific hamlet, Pacific mutton-hamlet

All Families:   All Genera:   All Species:

snout short, forehead straight
dark bars + white spots + black dots
pectoral: rows spots

Alphestes immaculatus Breder, 1936

Pacific mutton-hamlet, Pacific hamlet

Body deep, strongly compressed; large eyes; snout short; forhead with straight profile; preopercle serrated, with large forward-curving spine at lower front corner; 3-5 rows of small teeth on each jaw, a pair of small canines at front of both jaws, most of teeth movable; 21-24 gill rakers; dorsal with XI spines, 18 rays, with little or no notch between spiny and soft parts; anal fin III, 9; pectoral 17; tail rounded; flank scales smooth.

Rusty brown with darker brown blotches forming irregular bars on side; numerous dark brown and pale spots, and larger pale blotches on head and body; pectoral fins with rows of dark spots.

Size: reaches 30 cm.

Habitat: a secretive nocturnal predator found hiding in rocky crevices or amongst weed during the day.

Depth: 3-32 m.

Southern Baja and the Gulf of California to central Peru, the Revillagigedos, Galapagos, Malpelo and Cocos.

Closely related and sometimes confused with A. afer from the western Atlantic.


High Resolution Map Download

Species Data Create Report Export as Word File Export as Excel File
Salinity
  • Brackish
  • Marine
Inshore/Offshore
  • Inshore Only
  • Inshore
Water Column Position
  • Bottom
  • Bottom only
Habitat
  • Reef only
  • Reef associated (reef + edges-water column & soft bottom)
  • Submerged vegetation
  • Rocks
  • Reef (rock/coral/oyster)
FishBase Habitat
  • Demersal
Feeding Group
  • Carnivore
  • Data
Diet
  • Mobile benthic crustacea (shrimps/crabs)
  • Data
  • Bony fishes
Egg Type
  • No data
  • Pelagic
  • Pelagic larva
Global Endemism
  • East Pacific endemic
  • All species
  • Tropical Eastern Pacific (TEP) endemic
Regional Endemism
  • Island (s)
  • TEP endemic
  • Continent + Island (s)
  • Continent
  • All species
Residency
  • Resident
Climate Zone
  • Northern Tropical (Mexican Province to Nicaragua + Revillagigedos)
  • Northern Subtropical (Cortez Province + Sinaloan Gap)
  • Equatorial (Costa Rica to Ecuador + Galapagos, Clipperton, Cocos, Malpelo)
  • South Temperate (Peruvian Province )
  • North Temperate (Californian Province &/or Northern Gulf of California)
IUCN Red List
  • Least concern
  • Listed
CITES
  • Not listed
Length Max
  • 30
Depth Range Min
  • 3
Depth Range Max
  • 32