SERRANIDAE
SEABASSES
Mutton Hamlet
Alphestes afer
    Ecological Descriptors
Habitat Size Diet Behaviour Sex 
S 33 Cru, Pisc Noct I PGH
 
 
N.B.
Not a true Hamlet (Hypoplectrus spp)

Description
:
Eyes close to tip of snout. Mottled, blotched and sometimes banded in shades of brown, reddish-brown, olove and white. Red iris. White dots on pectoral fins form bands. Steeply sloping head. Three faint white bands radiating from eyes. Second part (soft ryed) dorsal fin large and sail-like.

Ecology
A reef-associated, non-migratory species with a depth range of 2 to 30 m. Mutton hamlet are solitary and typically occur in seagrass habitats. The species is sedentary during the day, hiding in crevices or lying among seaweed, sometimes partly covering itself with sand while lying on its side. Nocturnal feeders of benthic crustaceans. Piscivorous, invertivorous (small fishes and crustaceans)

Life Cycle
It is a diandric, protogynous hermaphrodite. Sex change followed protogynous mode in two pathways: primary males formed from immature female individuals or secondary males formed from resting, ripe or spent female individuals.. Estimated number of eggs per female to ranges from 155,000 to 225,000.

Mutton Hamlet
Mutton Hamlet
Mutton Hamlet
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(C) Carlos & Alison Estape
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Mutton Hamlet