Caribbean Fish Slideshow # 1
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Presentation Transcript
Caribbean FishSlideshow # 1 Family groups from A - R 2008 Edition
Angelfish • Sweeping extensions from dorsal and anal fins • Tough beaklike mouths • one of the only fish that can EAT sponges
Immature French Angelfish • Black and yellow bars • Rounded Tail with yellow border
French Angelfish • Oval Shaped Body • Dorsal and anal fin taper backwards • Blackbody with yellow tickmarks • 10-14 inches
Gray Angelfish • Oval Shaped Body • Gray body. • Yellow inner face of pectoral fin. • Square-cut tail • Juvenile:
Queen Angelfish • Blue “crown” on top of head • Yellow Tail • Juvenile:
Immature Rock Beauty • Yellow body • Black dot ringed in brilliant blue
Rock Beauty • Yellow forebody and tail • Dorsal and anal fin taper backwards
Sea Bass • Large and varied group • Oval body shape • Most have heavy lips • Spiny anterior dorsal fin continuous with soft posterior dorsal fin on most bass
Coney • Blue Dots • Two dark spots on lower lip • Highly variable background color
Graysby • Rounded tail • Dark spots found on base of dorsal fin
Creole-fish • Slightly forked tail • Red blotch at base of pectoral fin • 3 dark spots below base of dorsal fin
Harlequin bass • Dark, vertical stripes
Tobacco fish • Body is shades of orange to brown • Dark C shaped border on tail
Red Hind • Red blotches on body • Dorsal, tail, and anal fin tipped in black
Fairy Basslet • Distinct yellow and purple coloration • Black spot on dorsal fin
Greater Soapfish • Soaplike toxic mucus • Lay on side waiting to gulp unwary prey
Goliath Grouper (Jewfish) • Largest fish on the reef • Small dark spots over body 3-6 feet long
Comb Grouper • 3-4 lines slope down from eye/cheek to edge of gill cover • Heavy “grouper” lips
Tiger Grouper • “Tiger” stripes but NOT on head • Red/brown spots fuse into stripes • Often rest in cleaning stations
Nassau Grouper 1-2 feet
Bass: Hamlets • Many color patterns • Virtually identical in body shape/size • Distinctive brow is straight (uncurved) from eyes down to mouth
Barred Hamlet • Broad, v-shaped bar on the midbody • Flat head easily identifies a hamlet
Butter Hamlet • Distinct Hamlet slant on brow • Large blotch saddles the base of the tail
Indigo Hamlet • Hamlet forehead; straight slope from dorsal fin to lips • Blue body with white bars
Shy Hamlet • Body outlined in yellow • Black dot on nostril outlined in blue
Yellowtail Hamlet • Yellow tail • Hamlet forehead; straight slope from dorsal fin to lips
Boxfishes: • slow swimmers • protected by a triangular bony “box” skeleton just under the skin
Smooth Trunkfish • Dark body covered with white spots • Area of pale honeycomb on midbody • NO spines over eyes or under tail
Spotted Trunkfish • Light body covered with dark spots • NO honeycombed pattern • No spines over eyes • Spines under tail
Honeycombed Cowfish • Honeycomb pattern all over • Spines over eyes and under tail (the cow’s “horns”)
Butterflyfish • Oval shape • Small, protruding mouth • Eyes are usually disguised • Dorsal and anal fins extend to meet tail fin
Banded Butterfly fish • Two wide black midbody bands • Noticeable butterflyfish mouth
Four-eye Butterflyfish • Butterfly fish mouth and oval shape • Black spot outlined in white
Longsnout Butterflyfish • Butterfly fish mouth except noticeably elongated
Spotfin Butterflyfish • One black bar near eye • All fins are yellow • Black spot on tip of dorsal fin
Sergeant Major • Five black, vertical bars • Adults may have yellow on base of dorsal fin
Threespot Damselfish • Black saddle on top of caudal fin • Dark spot on base of pectoral fin • Yellow crescent over eye • Juvenile:
Yellowtail Damselfish • Yellow Tail • Blue spots running along the surface • Juvenile below:
Bicolor Damselfish • Dark front & White tail portion
Dusky Damselfish • Adult: • Juvenile:
Eels • Snake-like bodies • No bony gill cover (operculum) • Highly flexible for hunting inside the reef • Many have lost pectoral fins
Garden Eels • Visible in sand flats • Head pointed in the direction of current • Will burrow when threatened (only about 4-8 inches exposed)
Sharptail Moray Eel • Snakelike body • Yellow spots on head, grading to white on body 1.5 – 3 feet
Goldentail Moray Eel • Brown covered with yellow spots
Green moray eel 3-5 feet & thick as your leg
Grunts • Related to snappers, but less toothy • Most numerous on reefs with sand flats and seagrass beds • Most bear longitudinal stripes • Family includes Margates
Black Margate • High back profile • Clear/white pectoral fins • Dark tail
French Grunt • Flattened Ventral surface • Yellow bars do not run parallel; instead they meet at the lateral line