IWAMOTO & WIRTZ: SYNOPSIS OF EASTERN ATLANTIC SERRANUS 
17 
FigureII. Serranus heterurus. From Tarrafal, Santiago, Cape Verde Islands. Photograph by Patrick Louisy. 
Figure 12. Serranus heterurus. CAS 234558 (73.2 mm SL) from Guinea in 28-29 m, R/V Dr. Fridtjof Nansen stati¬ 
on. Photograph by T. Iwamoto. 
low; traces of reddish splotches near base of fin. Pectoral fin clear reddish-orange; pelvic fins 
blackish distally. 
Size : 10 cm TL. 
Habitat and distribution.— On rocky and marl bottoms in 20-65 m. A single specimen 
from Guinea (CAS 234558) was found amongst a large catch of pen shells, Pinnidae. Senegal, 
Guinea-Bissau, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Ghana, Cape Verde Islands and Sao Tome Island. 
Remarks and comparisons. — Serranus heterurus has been confused with S. sanctaehele- 
nae, with which it has sometimes been synonymized (e.g., Robins and Starck 1961: 290; Smith 
1981:5; 1990:706). Serranus heterurus can be readily distinguished from S. sanctaehelenae by its 
much smaller adult size (10 cm TL cf. 24 cm), and the following characters that are lacking in 
S. sanctaehelenae : color pattern (crescent-shaped marking behind orbit; blue spots below orbit; 
ground color reddish to orange); presence of cirri or fringes on posterior rim of nostril; dorsal lobe 
of caudal fin slightly produced. Serranus heterurus and the closely related S. pulcher are similar in 
most meristic and morphometric values, but differ notably in color pattern: S. pulcher is usually an 
overall dark grey on the upper half of head, the lower part reddish, then white on the underside, 
