Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Marine; reef-associated. Tropical; 27°N -
Western Atlantic: Bahamas and Central America to northern South America.
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 5.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 9710)
Dark green, with 17-23 pale green bars. Brownish stripe through eye interrupted by bright red spot.
Body shape (shape guide): elongated.
Inhabits pitted limestone faces and tide pools in surf areas in clear waters. Usually found among spines of rock-boring sea urchins (Ref. 26938). A protogynous hermaphrodite (Ref. 55367). Has been reared in captivity (Ref. 35420).
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
Benthic spawner. A monandric species (Ref. 55367). Sex reversal is completed in 3-5 weeks (Ref. 34185, 31410). Length at sex change = 2.0 cm TL (Ref. 55367). Males have a unique paired, secretory, accessory gonadal structures (AGS) associated with the testis (Ref. 103904).
Robins, C.R. and G.C. Ray, 1986. A field guide to Atlantic coast fishes of North America. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, U.S.A. 354 p. (Ref. 7251)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2025-2)
Threat to humans
Harmless
Human uses
Fisheries: commercial; aquarium: commercial
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