Amblycirrhitus pinos

Lore & Background

The redspotted hawkfish was first formally described as Pseudocirrhites pinos in 1927 by Bermudan naturalist Louis L. Mowbray, with the type locality given as Point Francis on the Isle of Pines in Cuba. In 1829 French zoologist Georges Cuvier described a species he called Cirrhites fasciatus, giving it a type locality of Puducherry in India, but this is now considered an error, as the fish most likely came from the Atlantic Ocean. When Theodore Nicholas Gill described the genus Amblycirrhitus in 1861 he used Cuvier's C. fasciatus as its type species, but Cuvier's name was preoccupied by Edward Turner Bennett's 1828 usage for a related species, so A. pinos is the type species of Amblycirrhitus under Cuvier's invalid name. Mowbray's specific name pinos refers to the Isle of Pines.

The redspotted hawkfish has an oval, moderately compressed body with a short, sharp snout and a fringe of cirri on the posterior margin of the anterior nostril. It has a moderately large mouth with small canine-like teeth on the outside of the jaws and a band of simple teeth inside. The dorsal fin is continuous with a small incision between the spiny and soft-rayed parts; the membranes between the spines are deeply notched and each spine has a tuft of cirri at its tip. The caudal fin is truncate. The lower part of the pectoral fin has 5–7 robust rays with deeply incised membranes, notably longer than other pectoral rays. The overall color is whitish with several brownish vertical bands, a dark brown caudal peduncle, and numerous red spots on the head and adjacent body.

It is a benthic fish that normally rests on the marine substrate, using its pectoral fins to secure itself against the current, and often takes sanctuary in tube sponges. It hunts by sight, ambushing prey from its station, mainly eating small crustaceans such as copepods, shrimps, shrimp larvae, crabs, and crab larvae, as well as polychaetes. It is a pelagic spawner, but little is known about its reproduction.

Reader's Guide

The redspotted hawkfish is notable as a species of marine ray-finned fish in the family Cirrhitidae, found in the Western Atlantic at depths shallower than 46 m. Its taxonomy involves a complex history: first described in 1927 by Louis L. Mowbray, it is also linked to an earlier 1829 description by Georges Cuvier that was later considered erroneous in its type locality. The species serves as the type species of the genus Amblycirrhitus under Cuvier's invalid name. Ecologically, it is a benthic ambush predator that rests on the substrate and uses its pectoral fins to hold position in currents, often sheltering in tube sponges. Its diet consists primarily of small crustaceans and polychaetes. The species is collected for the aquarium trade, which contributes to its significance as a commonly traded marine ornamental fish. Its distribution spans from Bermuda and the Bahamas through the Florida Keys, the Gulf of Mexico, the Caribbean, and south to Brazil and Trindade Island. Despite its presence in the trade, little is known about its reproduction, which remains an area of uncertainty.