Lantern bass
Serranus baldwini
(Evermann & Marsh, 1899)
Description:
Body cylindrical and elongated, marked with rows of dark to orange rectangular blotches and spots over white. An obvious row of dark, rectangular blotches on the lower side. Four black spots in a row on the base of the tail.
Inhabitants of deeper water are suffused with more red to orange or yellow than those from shallow water, which tend to be paler.
Size up to 12 cm.
Habitat:
Inhabits rocky and weedy areas, down to 80 m. Hover just above or rest on the bottom. Feeds on caridean shrimps and small fish. Synchronously hermaphroditic.
Distribution:
Occasional South Florida, Bahamas and Caribbean.