IWAMOTO & WIRTZ: SYNOPSIS OF EASTERN ATLANTIC SERRANUS 
5 
Figure 1. Serranus accraensis. A fresh 14 cm TL specimen from West Africa, taken by the R/V Dr. Fridtjof Nansen in 
47 m. Photograph by Oddgeir Alvheim. 
brownish hue and darker scale outlines; silvery to white below, ivory-white on gular and bran- 
chiostegal membranes, chest (including cleithrum and pectoral-fin base), and belly to origin of anal 
fin. Five to seven indistinct broad olive-green bands descend from dorsum to midlateral line where 
they become darker and form blotches, the blotch below dorsal spines VI to VIII usually darkest 
and largest, those more posterior smaller and fainter, although that on caudal peduncle often form¬ 
ing prominent dark blotch. Two characteristic blue stripes on side of head, the upper running at a 
shallow diagonal from the posteroventral comer of orbit to margin of gill cover between second 
and third opercular spines, the lower stripe beginning at snout and mnning below orbit to margin 
of gill cover. Dorsal fin olive-brown overall, with a clear basal stripe on spinous portion rising 
posteriorly above a narrow dark base; distally, small clear spots dot darker ground, with a faint 
orange margin on soft-dorsal portion of fin. Pectoral and pelvic fins faintly yellow; anal fin with 
golden-yellow stripe midlaterally, clear otherwise; caudal fin olive-brown, darker on ventral lobe; 
small clear spots along interradial membranes. In preserved specimens: the bluish stripes on head 
are dark and the midlateral blotches are more prominent; also, three narrow stripes on body become 
visible: one mnning along lateral line, ending near where lateral line descends; a second stripe 
mnning midlaterally from behind lower margin of fleshy opercular lobe to caudal peduncle; the 
third mnning from behind belly at mid-level of pectoral fin and ending above end of anal fin. 
Size: To about 20 cm TL. 
Habitat and distribution.— Muddy and sandy bottoms from 25-150 m. Senegal to Ango¬ 
la, Sao Tome Island (first record, based on CAS 231616). 
Remarks. — This is a relatively common species in tropical West Africa at depths of approx¬ 
imately 40 to 80 m. Poll (1954: 78-79) recorded 180 specimens collected at 10 localities between 
the equator off Gabon and the Congo River in northern Angola. The first author encountered the 
species infrequently during R/V Nansen surveys off Senegal, Ghana, Sao Tome e Principe, and 
Angola. 
Specimens examined (9 spec.; 8 from R/VDr Fridtjof Nansen [DFN] surveys collected by the 
first author).— Senegal: CAS 234557 (1 spec., 88.6 mm SL); 15°19.1'N, 16°55.5'W; 53-50 m; 
DFN Survey 2012-04-04, sta.98; 28 May 2012. CAS 234896 (1, 129 mm SL); 14°29.09'N, 
17°20.2'W; 58-57 m; DFN Survey 2012-04-04, sta.89; 27 May 2012. Ghana: CAS 231637 
(2, 89.5-93.6 mm SL); 5°37.06'N, 0°34.47'E, 45-46 m; DFN Survey 2010-04-04, sta 5; 1 May 
