Credit: Illustration by Diane Rome Peebles
Family Serranidae
Description: color olive-bronze, with dark blotches forming vertical bars; dark black blotch on middle of dorsal-fin base; tip of lower jaw purplish; bright blue and orange stripes and markings on head and fins; fully scaled nape; tail tri-lobed in adults
Similar fish: bank sea bass, C. ocyurus; other Centropristis
Where found: offshore; differs from other sea basses in that it is often found on sandy or muddy bottoms
Size: small species, rarely more than 10 inches
Remarks: spawns January through March; young adults are predominantly female, transforming into males as they grow older; maximum size about 10 inches
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