SERRANIDAE


Pseudogramma polyacanthum, 3.9 cm SL
(photo by Richard Winterbottom)


Pseudogramma polyacanthum
(Bleeker, 1856)
Pale-spotted Podge

D VII, 19-22; A III, 16-18; P1 14-17; P2 I, 5.

Body elongate; its depth less than head length. No tentacles dorsally on eye. Caudal fin rounded. Longest pectoral-fin ray not reaching a vertical through soft-rayed portion of anal fin. A single, incomplete lateral line; a few pored scales rarely on caudal peduncle. Color: body dark brown, mottled with pale brown. A large black blotch, subequal size with orbit diameter, on opercle. Pectoral fins translucent. Size: maximum length 8.6 cm. Distribution: widely distributed in the Indo-Pacific, from east coast of Africa to the Pitcairn and Hawaiian Islands. No records from the Red Sea to India. Remarks: found in shallow reefs at depths of 1-64 m. Feeds mainly on small benthic crustaceans.(Hiroyuki Motomura)