Mutton hamlet (Alphestes afer)

Scientific name: Alphestes afer Bloch, 1793

Mutton hamlet (Alphestes afer)

The Mutton hamlet (Alphestes afer) is a marine fish of the family Serranidae.

Biology

Dorsal spines (total): 11; Dorsal soft rays (total): 17-20; Anal spines: 3; Anal soft rays: 9 - 10. Diagnosis: Body depth is slightly less than head length, depth contained 2.4-3.1 (2.9) in standard length; caudal peduncle depth 7.0-9.0 (8.5) times in SL; eye diameter greater than or equal to snout length and 8.1-15.0 (13) times in SL; snout length 10.1-16.0 (16.0) times in SL; preopercle rounded, posterior edge serrate, with a large antrorse spine at the angle directed downward and forward and usually covered with skin. Gill rakers 5-8 (7) on upper limb, 14-17 (16) on lower limb, 19-25 (23) total, including rudiments. Dorsal fin with XI spines and 17 to 20 (18) soft rays, anal fin with III spines and 9, rarely 10 (10) soft rays; pectoral fins with 16 - 18 (17) rays; caudal fin rounded, with 15 branched rays. Scales are smooth. Lateral-line scales 49-66; lateral scale series 68 ? 88 (76). Color in life; head, body, and median fins olivaceous or light brown, irregul

Source: FishBase, licensed CC BY-NC 4.0.

Species facts

Scientific name
Alphestes afer
Family
Serranidae (Sea basses: groupers and fairy basslets)
Order
Perciformes (Perch-like fish)
Class
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned fishes)
Maximum length
33.0
Depth range
2–30 m (7–98 ft)
Environment
Marine; reef-associated; non-migratory; depth range 2 - 30 m
Climate
Tropical
Distribution
Western Atlantic: Bermuda, south Florida (USA), Gulf of Mexico, the Bahamas, Cuba, West Indies, Panama, Venezuela, and southward to the state of S?o Paulo, Brazil. Alphestes afer has recently been re-discovered at S?o Tom? in the Gulf of Guinea of the Eastern Atlantic.
Conservation status (IUCN)
Least Concern (LC)
Threat to humans
Reports of ciguatera poisoning
Uses
Fisheries: minor commercial; aquarium: commercial
Resilience
High, minimum population doubling time less than 15 months (Fec=150,000-220,000)

Sources

Taxonomy, distribution and biology data: FishBase (Froese, R. and D. Pauly, eds.), licensed CC BY-NC 4.0.

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