Elacatinus illecebrosus Bohlke & Robins 1968

photo by J. Van Tassell
Panama - Atlantic

IDENTIFICATION

Head Pores -

Scales - No scales

Fins - D1 - VII, no elements elongate; D2 - 12(11-12); pectoral 17(16-18); anal 11(10-12)

Head - Mouth inferior, shark-like. Rostral frenum present. Teeth in upper jaw uniserial, close-set arranged in a stockade fence manner. Teeth in lower jaw in three or four rows anteriorly, uniserial laterally; females without enlarged canines, males with one or two enlarged and recurved canines flanking the inner edge of the mandibular tooth patch on either side

Papillae - A transverse pattern with row 5i/6i at the anterior of row b; vertical rows under the eye short and not extending below the level of row d

Color - There are 3 distinct color forms, yellow, blue, white (Colin1975:47)

Palacio 1972: colored stripe was yellow in life in Panamanian specimens;Colombian specimens have a white bar on the snout and a blue lateral stripe that becomes whotish anteriorl at about the level of the opercular margin. Bohlke & McCosker '73 report that specimens from Panama and Cozumel: snout marking and lateral colored stripe to be yellow with fine dark puncticulations in Panama; Cozumel and Yucatan have the lateral stripe and snout marking white in color.

In the "yellow" and "blue" form the color stripe occupies only about one half to one third of the pale area between the dark stripes. The colored stripeis centrally located in the pale area and varies little in width throughout its length. The pale area, however, varies in width and is widest near the origin of the second dorsal fin.

Distribution - Caribbean coast of Panama and Colombia and from a few banks and islands if the western Caribbean

Habitat - Coral dwelling and a cleaner. Found at depths of 2-45 meters

Notes -