6 
PROCEEDINGS OF THE CALIFORNIA ACADEMY OF SCIENCES 
Series 4, Volume 65, 28 Sept. 2018, No. 1 
2010. Sao Tome e Principe: CAS 231616 (1 spec., 101 mm SL); off Sao Tome Island, 0°8.46'N, 
6°41.42'E, 54-61 m; DFN Survey 2010-04-05, sta. 26, 16 May 2010. Cameroon: CAS-SU 55584 
(1, 118.5 mm SL); Kribi; 2.938408°N, 9.908068°E; collector A.I. Good, 12 Apr. 1940. Angola: 
CAS 222858 (1, 88.5 mm SL); 12°17'S, 13°34'E; 53-57 m; DFN sta. 43611, 2 Apr. 2005. CAS 
234758 (1, 133.5 mm SL); 12°00.06'S, 13°37.06'E; 73 m; DFN sta. 40, 4 Mar. 2007. CAS 224982 
(1, 67.6 mm SL); 10°54.91’S, 13°43.7'E; 54-55 m; DFN sta. 61, 6 Mar. 2007. 
Serranus (Serranus) atricauda (Gunther, 1874) 
Figures 2-4 
Serranus {Serranus) atricauda Gunther, 1874:230 (Mogador [Essaouira, Morocco]). Paracentropristis atri- 
cauda\ Fowler, 1936:768 
Diagnosis. — D X,15-16; P 17; A 111,7-8, usually 8; gill rakers 8+14-15(22-23 total); pored 
lateral-line scales 80-90; circumpeduncular scales about 47. Caudal fin truncate; upper lobe slight¬ 
ly elongated and pointed at tip; lower lobe rounded. Snout, anterior half of suborbital region, top 
of head, jaws, gular and branchiostegal membranes, most of interorbital, and outer margin of 
preopercle naked; all fins with small scales on basal portion of rays. Anterior nostril with raised 
rim, posterior portion of rim elevated into a narrow flap lacking fingerlike fringes. Adults with 
midlateral series of squarish black blotches, often broken by narrow white vertical bars (but not in 
yellow morphs, see below). Tips of caudal fin and distal margin of anal fin blackish. 
Description. — Head about 2.7-3.0 time in SL; snout pointed, longer than orbit, about 
3.8^1.0 in HL; orbit and interorbital space about equal, and about 4-6 times in HL. Body relative¬ 
ly shallow, 3.3-3.5 times in SL, compressed, the dorsal profile gently curved from snout tip to end 
of tail, ventral profile similarly smooth but less curved. Three flat spines on opercle, the uppermost 
and lowermost much shorter than middle spine, the narrow opercular flap extending beyond 
middle spine a distance about equal to length of that spine. Preopercle margin armed with small 
serrations along entire free margin. 
Premaxillary teeth with two or three short canines on outer border of a cluster of teeth near tip 
of jaw, and one or two larger canines on inner mesial margin of cluster; the anterior cluster taper¬ 
ing to a narrow band posteriorly, flanked by a spaced series of smaller conical teeth. Dentary with 
moderately wide band of small teeth anteriorly, with two prominent canines at tip; the band 
narrowing to one or two irregular series of small, spaced canines interspersed with a few large 
canines near mid-length of jaw. Vomer with small teeth in a broadly V-shaped band; palatine teeth 
small, in a short narrow band. 
First 4-6 spines of dorsal fin graduated, the spines following subequal; 5 th or 6 th spine longest, 
their length about equal to distance orbit to angle of preopercle; the soft dorsal slightly higher 
where it joins spinous dorsal, creating a slight rise but no distinct notch in profile of dorsal fin; 
longest spine (5 th or 6 th ) about equal to longest segmented ray. Anal-fin spines graduated, the first 
44-60% length of second and third spines, which are about equal; segmented rays of anal fin 
longer than spines, the last three or four segmented rays longest. Pectoral fin broad-based, its 
origin about on same vertical as origin of dorsal and pelvic fins; distal tips of pectoral and pelvic 
fins falling well short of anal fin. 
Color : Adults (Fig. 2) commonly have a white longitudinal stripe on body over anterior half 
of lateral line, after which the stripe narrows as it continues its horizontal course to the upper 
margin of the caudal peduncle, while the lateral line descends to a midlateral position; below this 
white stripe are four or five large, dark, rectangular blocks, each block alternating with a narrow 
dark vertical band; about five large dark blotches on dorsum below dorsal fin; small dark spots 
