Size

Maximum size 20cm (8")

Recognition Characters

Body compressed, cigar-shaped; nipping canine teeth prominent; 2 longitudinal stripes sometimes broken into spots (the ventral stripe is sometimes faint); dark spot at the upper anterior margin of the opercle; axil dark; dark spot on the caudal base; anal fin dark with light edge. Dorsal spines: 9; Anal spines: 3; Anal soft rays: 12.

Color

Terminal phase males are green on back, shading to light greenish yellow on sides, the two stripes usually purplish; irregular light red bands on head and on caudal fin.

Habitat & Depth

Offshore, deeper temperate and tropical reefs, also reef rubble and patch reefs in shallow waters. Less common in seagrass beds.

Distribution at GRNMS

Abundant.

Geographic Range

North Carolina south to Brazil, Caribbean, West Indies, and Gulf of Mexico

Behavior & Notes

Protogynous hermaphrodite

Synonyms

References