Teleostei (teleosts) >
Perciformes/Serranoidei (Groupers) >
Serranidae (Sea basses: groupers and fairy basslets)
Etymology: Hypoplectrus: Greek, hypo = under + Greek, plektron = sting, spur (Ref. 45335).
More on author: Cuvier.
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Marine; reef-associated; depth range 3 - 23 m (Ref. 9710). Tropical
Western Central Atlantic: rare along the most of the continental western Caribbean, becoming occasional in the vicinity of Panama; Bahamas, Virgin Islands, Lesser Antilles, and islands off Venezuela. Absent from Florida, Marquesas Keys and the Dry Tortugas (USA); records from Texas, USA are almost certainly misidentified juveniles of Epinephelus sp.
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 12.7 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 13442)
Body blackish in color (intensity of the black can vary from bluish to brownish). All fins pigmented. Pectoral fins rarely yellow. Caudal fin bright yellow.
A solitary species (Ref. 26340) found near the bottom of coral rich areas (Ref. 9710). Feeds on crustaceans and fishes (Ref. 26180).
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturities | Reproduction | Spawnings | Egg(s) | Fecundities | Larvae
Domeier, M.L., 1994. Speciation in the serranid fish Hypoplectrus. Bull. Mar. Sci. 54(1):103-141. (Ref. 26407)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435)
Threat to humans
Harmless
Human uses
Fisheries: commercial
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Estimates based on models
Preferred temperature (Ref.
123201): 24.7 - 28.1, mean 27.4 °C (based on 728 cells).
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref.
82804): PD
50 = 0.5000 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.01778 (0.00680 - 0.04650), 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): 3.8 ±0.4 se; based on diet studies.
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).
Nutrients (Ref.
124155): Calcium = 87.3 [47.9, 175.6] mg/100g; Iron = 0.687 [0.360, 1.312] mg/100g; Protein = 18 [16, 20] %; Omega3 = 0.131 [0.075, 0.221] g/100g; Selenium = 23.8 [12.8, 48.6] μg/100g; VitaminA = 96.6 [25.2, 425.5] μg/100g; Zinc = 1.37 [0.87, 2.09] mg/100g (wet weight);