AGRRA: Fish Identification Course
Revision: 2016-05-25 (Common Names)
Images in this presentation are Copyright © by Ken Marks and New World Publications.
Copyright © Ocean Research & Education Foundation Permission is granted to use this Powerpoint
presentation for educational purposes with the AGRRA Program and, with attribution, for other valid educational purposes.
All other uses are strictly prohibited.
Angelfishes
The angelfish family contains only a handful of species that are thin bodied and have rounded or oval profiles. Angelfishes can be distinguished from the closely related butterflyfishes by the presence of a rear-pointing spine extending from the lower part of the gill cover and their generally larger size compared to the butterflyfish. Two tiny species of angelfishes (genus Centropyge) are not included as they are uncommon species usually restricted to deeper reefs.
Queen Angelfish
Dark blue
“crown”
ringed in brilliant blue
Yellow tail
Queen Angelfish (juvenile)
Body bars curved
Blue Angelfish
Fins bordered in
yellow
Blue Angelfish (juvenile)
Body bars straight
French Angelfish
Black with yellow rims
on scales
Rounded tail
French Angelfish (juvenile)
Yellow oval on curved
tail
Gray Angelfish
Yellow inner face of pectoral
Square-cut tail with light
margin Gray body
with dark scales
Gray Angelfish (juvenile)
Square-cut tail with light
margin
Rock Beauty
Yellow forebody
and tail Black body
Rock Beauty (juvenile)
Black spot ringed in brilliant blue
Butterflyfishes
Butterflyfishes, like the closely related angelfishes, are thin bodied fishes that have rounded or oval profiles but they are generally smaller and lack the spine on the gill cover. Butterflyfishes are often seen in pairs as they flit about the reef. Most species have a dark bar running through the eyes to conceal them. This is combined with false eye spots on the tail of most juveniles (and some adults) to further create the illusion that the fish is pointing the other way (to confuse predators).
Banded Butterflyfish
Two black midbody bands
Foureye Butterflyfish
Black spot ringed in
white
Spotfin Butterflyfish
All fins
(except pectoral) bright yellow
Black spot on edge of rear dorsal
Reef Butterflyfish
Broad dark area on rear
body
Longsnout Butterflyfish
Long pointed
snout
Yellow to black bar runs to eye but not below
Surgeonfishes
A sharp scalpel-like spine on either side of the tail base gives this family its name.
These herbivorous fishes are often seen as singles or in small groups but they also may form large schools which often use their numbers to overcome the defenses of damselfishes to feed upon their algal gardens. There are only three species in the Tropical Western Atlantic and they all have similar coloration but they can be identified by subtle but reliable distinguishing features.
Blue Tang
White to yellow spine
Blue Tang (juvenile)
Bright yellow overall
Ocean Surgeonfish
Pectoral fin translucent, often yellowish
Doctorfish
Dark area at base of pectoral fin May show
faint or bold body bars
Several families of silvery colored fishes are grouped here (jacks, barracudas, porgies and sea chubs). It is no surprise that the prey items of this diverse group of species covers a wide range. Barracudas and Jacks prey on fishes both up in the water column as well as down on the reef. Porgies feed on benthic invertebrates (including the Long-spined Urchin, Diadema antillarum). Chubs are herbivores feeding on benthic algae. There are actually four nearly identical species of chubs in the area but as they are functionally equivalent on the reef they are recorded generically as chubs rather than to species.
Silvery (Miscellaneous)
Bar Jack
Black and bright blue border on back
and lower tail
Permit
Dark pectoral High back
profile
Orangish area
Great Barracuda
Underslung jaw with large teeth
Long, cylindrical body often with scattered black blotches on side
Sheepshead Porgy
Small black spot on pectoral base
Slight overbite
Saucereye Porgy
Bluish saucer-shaped line under eye
Corners of mouth yellow Bluish blotch on
pectoral base
Jolthead Porgy
Long sloping
head
Large mouth with thick lips
Pluma Porgy
Blue rectangular stripe behind eye
Chub (multiple species)
Football-shaped body
Grunts
Grunts and snappers (next) are closely related families but grunts are generally smaller and tend to have more deeply notched tails. While they lack the sharp canine teeth of snappers, they do have pharyngeal teeth deep in their throats that when ground together make a grunting sound (amplified by the air-filled swim bladder). Grunts may aggregate in large schools (sometimes of mixed species) during the day resting in sheltered areas on the reef by day. They spread out over sand flats and seagrass beds to feed on benthic invertebrates at night.
French Grunt
Diagonal yellow stripes below lateral line
Bluestriped Grunt
Blue stripes with black edges
Dark tail and rear dorsal
Smallmouth Grunt
5 or 6 yellow stripes
Small cylindrical body
White Grunt
Yellow and blue stripes only on head
All fins whitish Checkered pattern
on body scales
Caesar Grunt
Thin yellow stripes
Darkish rear fins
Spanish Grunt
Black stripes on upper body Yellowish green
back Yellow saddle
on tail base
Tomtate
Thick gold line at midbody and thinner
line on back
Usually dark spot on tail base
Cottonwick
Black stripe runs from snout to eye
Black diagonal stripe on back
runs onto tail forming V
Sailors Choice
Black spots on scales form diagonal bands
Gold ring around eye
Black Margate
High back profile
Black patch behind pectoral
White Margate
Small eye with white iris High back
profile
Porkfish
High back profile
Two black bands on head Yellow nape
Yellow fins
Snappers
The common name of this family comes from their behavior of snapping their jaws when hooked. Snappers are generally larger than the similarly shaped grunts and have prominent canine teeth and a single, continuous dorsal fin that further helps to distinguish them from grunts. Like grunts, they are also nocturnal hunters feeding on benthic invertebrates as well as small fishes. During the day they may form small to large aggregations but are often solitary. The Yellowtail Snapper is much more streamline shaped with a lower body profile and a widely forked tail.
This species is often found well above the reef in mid-water.
Mutton Snapper
Pointed anal fin Blue line
below eye
Usually has midbody spot
Cubera Snapper
Thick lips with large teeth
Largest snapper; often silvery gray with no markings but
may have faint bars
Dog Snapper
Pale triangular patch under eye
Mahogany Snapper
Reddish margin on tail
Lane Snapper
Narrow parallel yellow stripes on body
Usually dark blotch on back
Gray Snapper
Gray often with no markings Occasionally dark
band from lip through eye
Yellowtail Snapper
Yellow midbody stripe merges into yellow tail
Schoolmaster
Silvery to yellow body with all
yellow fins May have faint
bars on back (especially young)
Damselfishes
Damselfishes are a common inhabitant on most reef habitats and many species can be difficult to identify to species (especially as juveniles). Many damselfish species are planktivores—picking small specks out of the water columns. The only species of interest to AGRRA are the two species that create and tend algal gardens (often killing areas of coral in the process).
Threespot Damselfish
Yellow crescent over eye
Spots on tail base and pectoral fin base
Yellowtail Damselfish
Yellow tail Dark body with a few
bright blue spots
Yellowtail Damselfish (juvenile)
Blue body with brilliant
blue spots
Clear tail
Groupers are the best known members of the sea bass family and the only part of that family of interest to AGRRA. The large groupers in the genera Epinephelus and Mycteroperca are often some of the first species to disappear from over-fished reefs. Often, only the smaller grouper species in the genus Epinephelus and those in the genus Cephalopholis may be left in any abundance on reefs receiving fishing pressure. On reefs with severely degraded fish populations these too may be absent. Most groupers tend to remain relatively hidden during the day lurking in the shadows of ledges or wrecks and blending in with their surroundings with colors and markings that provide camouflage. All large groupers should be counted but only common species are shown here.
Groupers/Sea Basses
Nassau Grouper
Black saddle spot on tail base Diagonal bands
on head
Dark bars on body
Black Grouper
Rectangular markings on back
Pale edge on pectoral
Yellowfin Grouper
Oval markings on back
Yellow to pale outer edge of pectoral
Dark margin on tail
Yellowmouth Grouper
Yellow around corners of mouth
Pectoral margins pale
Tiger Grouper
Diagonal “tiger-stripe”
bars on back
Graysby
3 to 5 dark spots along base of dorsal fin
Tail more rounded than similar species
Red Hind
Tail and rear fins have dark margin with thin
white edge
Rock Hind
Black saddle on tail base Dark blotches
along back
Coney
Two black spots on lower lip
Two black spots on tail base
Reddish-brown color phase
Coney
Bicolor phase
Coney
Golden variation (rare)
Parrotfishes
Parrotfishes have teeth fused into parrot-like beaks and strong jaws. These adaptations serve them well as they feed by scraping algae from areas of dead coral. Occasionally, they will also bite live coral—in some cases leaving bright white scars to mark the boundaries of their territory. Like the closely related wrasses, parrotfishes have several life stages marked with, often drastically different, colors and markings which can make identification difficult. These phases include the Juvenile Phase (JP), Initial Phase (IP), and Terminal Phase (TP). JP contains both males and females, IP contains sexually mature females (and sometimes immature and mature males), and TP are always sexually mature males.
Blue Parrotfish
All blue body
Midnight Parrotfish
Dark “midnight”
blue body
Lighter blue markings on face
Rainbow Parrotfish
Orange head, forebody and tail
Green rear body
Queen Parrotfish (TP)
Blue-green markings (“Moustache”) around mouth
Pale bar along pectoral
Queen Parrotfish (IP)
White stripe from pectoral to tail Gray to black
body and tail
Stoplight Parrotfish (TP)
Yellow spot at corner of gill cover
Yellow area at tail base and crescent on tail
Stoplight Parrotfish (IP)
Red belly and tail Scattered large white
scales with dark outlines
Stoplight Parrotfish (JP)
3 rows of small white spots on body
White bar on tail
Princess Parrotfish (TP)
Pink borders on tail
Yellow wash on side Two green lines pass
by eye
Princess Parrotfish (JP/IP)
Dark borders on tail
No gold wash on nose
Striped Parrotfish (TP)
Blue borders on tail
Yellow spot or stripe above pectoral base
Short pink bars between scales
Striped Parrotfish (IP)
Gold wash on nose No dark borders
on tail
Redband Parrotfish (TP)
Red band under eye Yellow blotch and
small black spots on upper forebody
Red anal fin
Redband Parrotfish (IP)
White saddle spot
Redband Parrotfish (JP)
2 white body stripes
White to pink saddle spot
Redtail Parrotfish (TP)
Red tail crescent Blue streak
behind pectoral
Black blotch at pectoral base
Redtail Parrotfish (IP)
White blotch on tail base
Black blotch at pectoral base
Pale to pinkish body color can be difficult to distinguish from
Yellowtail Parrotfish
Yellowtail Parrotfish (TP)
Yellow crescent on tail
Black blotch at pectoral base
Yellowtail Parrotfish (IP)
Pale body; ventral fin often pinkish
Yellow tail
Greenblotch Parrotfish (TP & IP)
Yellow-gold to red iris
TP: Faint green blotch above
pectoral
IP: Red overall
Wrasses are closely related to the parrotfishes and share similar difficulties in species identification due to having multiple growth phases (JP, IP & TP). Unlike the parrotfishes, wrasses eat benthic invertebrates and do not scrape algae so their mouths have noticeable small pointy teeth instead of parrot-like “beaks” of fused teeth. Most wrasses are elongate and slender bodied but a group of wrasses known as hogfishes have higher back profiles and elongated snout-like mouths that they use to root around in rocks and rubble to find their invertebrate prey (including the Long-spined Urchin, Diadema antillarum).
Wrasses (Hogfishes)
Hogfish
First 3 dorsal spines unusually long
IP: Black blotch on base of rear dorsal
Spanish Hogfish
Purple upper forebody
Yellow belly and tail
Puddingwife (IP)
Green margin on tail IP: White spots
along back
Puddingwife (JP)
Dark blue spot on mid-dorsal and
tail base
Yellowhead Wrasse (TP)
Yellow head
Dark mid-body bar Wavy lines
behind eyes
Yellowhead Wrasse (IP)
Thin blue lines on tail
Wavy lines behind eyes
Yellowhead Wrasse (JP)
Brilliant blue mid-body stripe
Slippery Dick (TP)
Green and yellow bicolor spot above pectoral
Triangular markings on tail corners
Slippery Dick (JP)
White with dark mid-body stripe
Pufferfishes/Porcupinefishes/Boxfishes
A few members of the pufferfish, porcupinefish, and boxfish families are included in the AGRRA fish protocol since they are known to prey upon small Long-spined Urchin, Diadema antillarum. Pufferfishes and porcupinefishes (closely related families) are capable of inflating their bodies by drawing in water as a means of defense. Boxfishes, instead, protect themselves with a triangular, bony box of armor which also makes their bodies inflexible so they are relatively slow and clumsy swimmers.
Bandtail Puffer
Two dark bands on tail Row of spots
along mid-body
Porcupinefish
Black spots on all fins
Balloonfish
Long spines on head
No spots on fins
Spotted Trunkfish
Black spots on white body
Spines in front of anal fin
Triggerfishes and filefishes are closely related families with subtle differences. They are part of the superfamily known as leatherjackets due to the rough texture of their skin. Both families have an elongate first dorsal spine that may be raised or lowered. Triggerfishes have a second smaller ridged spine “the trigger” behind the first which may be used to lock this larger spine into place. The dorsal spine of filefishes tent to be longer and thicker than those of triggerfishes.
Triggerfishes & Filefishes
Queen Triggerfish
Black lines radiate out
from eye
2 blue lines on face
Ocean Triggerfish
Uniformly gray; black blotch at base of pectoral
Black Durgon
Blackish body; pale blue lines along dorsal and
anal fin bases
Orangespotted Filefish
White saddle spot on tail base Small orange
spots on body
Whitespotted Filefish
Orange spines on tail base Usually has pale
white spots
Extended belly appendage
Whitespotted Filefish
May be unspotted orange with pale mid-body area
Orange spines on tail base
Morays
Morays include some of the largest eels encountered on the reef. They have no pectoral or ventral fins and their dorsal, tail, and anal fins are merged into a single continuous fin that extends from behind the head around the tail and midway up the lower part of the body. Since morays lack external gill covers they constantly open and close their mouths to force water over their gills. This is often interpreted as aggression when it is only respiration. Though they are not aggressive, they can inflict a serious bite so they are best left unmolested.
Green Moray
Uniformly green with no markings
Spotted Moray
Covered with dark speckling Dark border
along dorsal
Goldentail Moray
Brown with fine yellow spots;
golden tail tip not often seen Golden ring
around pupil
Lionfish
A member of the scorpionfish family, lionfish are not native to the Tropical Western Atlantic. This very distinctive exotic species from the Indo-Pacific has become naturalized in our waters due to escaped individuals kept in aquariums which were able to find mates and begin breeding in the wild. In just a few years lionfish have spread throughout the region and lacking predators have attained problematic densities on many reefs resulting in a loss of biodiversity and biomass to these hungry predators. The venomous spines of the dorsal and the ventral and anal fins can inflict a painful wound so care should be taken around lionfish.
Lionfish
Featherlike dorsal and
pectorals
Reddish brown body
bands