Classification / Names
Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes(genus, species) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa
Teleostei (teleosts) >
Perciformes/Serranoidei (Groupers) >
Serranidae (Sea basses: groupers and fairy basslets)
Etymology: Hypoplectrus: Greek, hypo = under + Greek, plektron = sting, spur (Ref. 45335); affinis: Name refers to the fact that this species is related but not identical to H. nigricans and H. chlorurus (which also applies to H. atlahua and H. randallorum which were not described at the time).
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Marine; reef-associated; depth range 2 - 12 m (Ref. 125712). Tropical
Western Atlantic: Nicaragua, Mexico, Florida Keys, Grand Cayman, the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Bonaire and Tobago.
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ? range ? - ? cm
Max length : 9.1 cm SL male/unsexed; (Ref. 125712)
Short description
Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics
Dorsal spines (total): 10; Dorsal soft rays (total): 15; Anal spines: 3; Anal soft rays: 7; Vertebrae: 24. This species is distinguished from all named congeners by colouration by the following characters: body and dorsal fin are brown, no dark vertical bars, pelvic fins are bright smoky blue and anal fin ranges from smoky blue to brown with smoky blue tones; lips are smoky blue and the iris is yellow; most similarly coloured, unbarred hamlets are H. randallorum, H. chlorurus, H. nigricans, H. atlahua, which differ most from H. affinis in the ground colour of the body (lighter (tan) in H. randallorum which also has large dark spots on the caudal peduncle and snout) and darker (black) in H. chlorurus, H. nigricans, H. atlahua, plus H. chlorurus has yellow pectoral and caudal fins (Ref. 125712).
Found in reef areas, with its foraging behaviour suggesting that like the other hamlets, it is a mesopredator. In Bocas del Toro and Guna Yala (Panama), it has been observed at depths
ranging from 2 to 12 m.
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
Puebla, O., F. Coulmace, C.J. Estapé and A.M. Estapé, 2022. A review of 263 years of taxonomic research on Hypoplectrus (Perciformes: Serranidae), with a redescription of Hypoplectrus affinis (Poey, 1861). Zootaxa 5093(2):101-141. (Ref. 125712)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2024-1)
Threat to humans
Harmless
Human uses
Fisheries: commercial
Tools
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Internet sources
Estimates based on models
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref.
82804): PD
50 = No PD50 data [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.01778 (0.00683 - 0.04629), b=3.03 (2.80 - 3.26), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this (Sub)family-body shape (Ref.
93245).
Trophic level (Ref.
69278): 3.7 ±0.4 se; based on size and trophs of closest relatives
Resilience (Ref.
120179): High, minimum population doubling time less than 15 months (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref.
59153): Low vulnerability (10 of 100).
