FISH of the
Caribbean
from the Bahamas
south to Trinidad
A list of Caribbean Fish
compiled by Armas Hill,
with fish that occur
in
coral reefs and otherwise
Noting those seen during
Focus On Nature Tours
with an (*)
Photo at upper right: A mouth
of a WHALE SHARK
photographed during a FONT tour off the coast of Puerto Rico
(photo by Marie Gardner)
Codes:
CY Cayman Islands
DM Dominica
HS Hispaniola (Dominican Republic &
Haiti)
JM Jamaica
PR Puerto Rico
(p): seen pelagically
Classifications as designated by IUCN (International Union for the Conservation of
Nature) relating to threatened species:
(t1): critically endangered
(t2); endangered
(t3): vulnerable
(nt): near-threatened
(ph): species with a photo in the FONT website
(ASC:xx) refers to plate number of photo in
the "National Audubon Society Field Guide to Seashore Creatures"
(ATMF:xx) refers to plate number of photo in the "National
Audubon Society Field Guide to Tropical Marine Fishes"
(FGCF:xx) refers to the page with an
illustration in the book "A Field Guide to Coastal Fishes, from Maine to
Texas" by Val Kells and Kent Carpenter, 2011
Links:
A
Listing of scheduled Focus On Nature Tours
Upcoming
Focus On Nature Tours in the Caribbean
FONT
Past Tour Highlights
Links, in this following list, to:
Sharks & Rays
Sawfish Sunfish
Frogfishes Batfishes
Clingfishes Flying Fishes
Needlefishes
Squirrelfishes Trumpetfishes
Pipefishes & Sea Horses
Scorpionfishes
Groupers, Sea Basses, Hamlets Dolphinfish
Remoras Jacks & Pompanos
Pomfrets
Tunas & Mackerels
Cardinalfishes
Snappers Mojarras Grunts
Porgies
Drums, Croakers
Angelfishes
Butterflyfishes
Damselfishes Wrasses
Parrotfishes
Bigeyes Driftfishes
Sand
Flounders Tonguefishes
Spadefishes Surgeonfishes
Triggerfishes Triplefin Blennies
Sand
Stargazers Combtooth Blennies
Pikeblennies
Labrisomid Blennies Gobies
Eels Tarpon Lizardfishes
Grenadiers
Barracudas
Boxfishes Puffers
Porcupinefishes Billfishes
Other
Links:
Other Marine-Life of the
Caribbean
Mammals in the West Indies of the Caribbean (land & marine)
A List & Photo Gallery of Caribbean Birds, in 2 Parts
Butterflies & Moths in the West Indies of the Caribbean
(with
photos)
Amphibians & Reptiles in the West Indies of the Caribbean (with
photos)


During the FONT Feb 2012
Dominican Republic tour,
as we went long a little road, in the interior of the country,
there was this place where sometimes fish were sold,
as the sign says, a "Pescaderia".
In the photo below, the menu with the local names of the fish.

WHALE
SHARK (Family Rhincodontidae)
- Whale Shark (t3) (ph) ______
CY DM HS PR(p)(*) (ATMF:29)
(FGCF:65)
Rhincodon typus
The Whale Shark, Rhincodon
typus, is the largest known fish in the world, and the largest known
cold-blooded vertebrate.. It can reach up to 14 meters (42 feet) in length,
but typical adults are between 7 meters (21 feet) and 10 meters (30 feet)
long.
It has an enormous head, that is wedge-shaped in side profile, flat-fronted,
and squarish from above, and it has small barbets, and a cavernous
mouth-opening 1.5 meters (almost 6 feet) wide. (See photo above.)
There are hundreds of tiny, hook-like teeth in each jaw.
Its eyes are inconspicuous, closed by retracting and rotating the eyeball
backwards in its socket.
The tail-fin of the fish is huge, about one-third of the total body length.
Another name for the fish is the Domino Shark, coming from its
distinctive black skin covered in rows of white dots.
The lifespan of the Whale Shark is long. It can typically live into
its 70s.
The Whale Shark is a true shark. Its name, of course, is due
to its large size. Unlike vicious Great White Sharks, Whale Sharks
are gentle filter-feeders. Plankton is its primary food. When feeding, Whale
Sharks glide in circles, as they simply suck up whatever small sea-life
is front of them.
Often seen accompanying Whale Sharks are young Golden Trevally,
Gnathanodon speciosus.
Although Whale Sharks populate the tropical zone around the globe,
the shallow waters off the north coast of the Mexican province of Quintana
Roo, on the Yucatan Peninsula, is the only known place in the world where a very
large population gathers. They occur, there, in pods of ten or twenty, and
it has been estimated that total number there, in the waters, is MORE THAN
200. This apparently is due to the swirling waters where the Gulf of Mexico
meets the Atlantic Ocean. Those waters teem with plankton, noted as the Whale
Shark's favored food.
The highest number of Whale Sharks off the northern Yucatan Peninsula
is said to be in the summer, although it does occur at other times.
A photo of a Whale Shark at the top of this list, and another below with
Pilotfish
(in the
Jacks & Pompanos
grouping).
THRESHER SHARKS (Family
Alopiidae)
- Thresher Shark (t3)
______ (FGCF:65)
Alopias vulpinus
- Bigeye Thresher (t3)
______ (FGCF:65)
Alopias superciliosus
ANGEL SHARK (Family Squatinidae)
- Atlantic Angel Shark ______
(ATMF:52) (FGCF:83)
Squatina dumeril
NURSE SHARKS (Family Ginglymostomatidae)
- Nurse Shark ______
CY DM HS (ATMF:30)
(FGCF:63)
Ginglymostoma cirratum
REQUIEM or GRAY SHARKS (Family Carcharhinidae)
- Blacknose Shark ______ CY
DM HS
(FGCF:69)
Carcharhinus acronotus
- Bignose Shark ______
(FGCF:71)
Carchahinus altimus
- Spinner Shark ______
(FGCF:71) (this species is
easily confused with the Blacknose Shark)
Carchahinus brevipinna
- Silky Shark ______ CY
DM HS
(ATMF:40) (FGCF:71)
Carchahinus falciformis
- Finetooth Shark ______ (FGCF:71)
Carcharhinus isodon
- Bull Shark ______ CY
DM HS
(ATMF:44) (FGCF:71)
Carcharhinus leucas
The Bull Shark grows to 11 feet in length.
- Blacktip Shark ______ CY
DM HS
(FGCF:73)
Carcharhinus limbatus
- Oceanic Whitetip
Shark ______ CY DM HS (ATMF:39)
Carcharhinus longimanus
- Caribbean Reef Shark ______ CY
DM HS (ATMF:42)
(FGCF:73)
Carcharhinus perezii
The Caribbean Reef Shark grows to 9.7 feet in length.

Caribbean Reef Shark
- Sandbar Shark (t3) ______
(ATMF:43) (FGCF:73)
Carcharhinus plumbeus
- Nightshark ______
(ATMF:41)
Carcharhinus signatus
- Tiger Shark ______ CY
DM HS
(ATMF:35) (FGCF:75)
Galeocerdo cuvier
- Lemon Shark ______ CY
DM HS
(ATMF:36) (FGCF:75)
Negaprion brevirostris
The Lemon Shark grows to 11 feet in length.
- Blue Shark (nt) ______
CY DM HS (ATMF:38)
(FGCF:75)
Prionace glauca
The Blue Shark is the most widely distributed of all sharks, occurring in
all of the tropical and warm temperate seas. It prefers shallow, sunlit,
open-ocean habitat.
The Blue Shark grows to 12.5 feet in length.
HOUND SHARKS (Family Triakidae)
- Smooth Dogfish Shark ______ CY
DM HS
(ATMF:46) (FGCF:69)
Mustelis canis
- Florida Smoothound Shark ______
(FGCF:69)
Mustelis norrisi
HAMMERHEAD SHARKS (Family Sphyrnidae)
- Scalloped Hammerhead
Shark (t2) ______ DM HS (ATMF:48,49)
(FGCF:77)
Sphyrna lewini
- Great Hammerhead Shark (t2) ______
CY DM HS
(ATMF:47) (FGCF:77)
Sphyrna mokarran
The Great Hammerhead Shark grows to 19.7 feet in length.
- Bonnethead Shark ______ (ATMF:50)
(FGCF:77)
(species described by Linnaeus in 1758)
Sphyrna tiburo
- Smalleye Hammerhead
Shark ______
Sphyrna tudes
The Small Hammerhead Shark is in the southern Caribbean, along the
Venezuela coast.
COW SHARKS (Family Hexanchidae)
- Sharpnose Seven-gill Shark ______
(FGCF:77)
Heptranchias perlo
MACKEREL SHARKS (Family Lamnidae)
- Great White Shark (t3) ______
(ATMF:32) (FGCF:67) (species described by Linnaeus in 1758)
Carcharodon carcharias
The Great White Shark grows to 19 feet in length.
- Shortfin Mako Shark ______ CY
DM HS
(ATMF:33) (FGCF:67)
Isurus oxyrhynchus
- Longfin Mako Shark (t3) ______
(FGCF:67)
Isurus paucus
The Longfin Mako Shark grows to 13 feet in length.
DOGFISH SHARKS (Family Squalidae)
- Cuban Dogfish Shark ______ HS
(ATMF:51) (FGCF:79)
Squalus cubensis
CATSHARKS (Family Scyliorhinidae)
- Antilles Catshark ______
(similar in appearance to the Marbled Catshark)
Galeus antillensis
- Springer's Sawtail Catshark
______ DM (species described in 1998; the type specimen was an
immature male collected in 1969 near the Leeward Islands)
Galeus springeri
GULPER SHARKS
(Family Centrophoridae)
- Gulper Shark (t3) ______
(FGCF:79)
Centrophorus
granulosus
EAGLE RAYS (Family Myliobatidae)
- Giant Manta (nt) ______
CY
(ATMF:64) (FGCF:95) (formerly in Family Mobulidae)
Manta birostris
The Giant Manta grows to a width of 23 feet.
- Cownose Ray ______
(FGCF:95) (formerly in Family Rhinopteridae)
Rhinoptera bonasus
In the Caribbean area, the Cownose Ray only occurs in northern Cuba.
It occur ranges from Venezuela to Brazil.
- Spotted Eagle Ray (ph) ______
CY DM HS (ATMF:62)
(FGCF:93)
Aetobatus narinari
The Spotted Eagle Ray grows to a width of 7.5 feet.

Spotted Eagle Ray
- Bullnose Ray ______
(FGCF:93)
Myliobatis freminvillei
The Bullnose Ray ranges from Massachusetts to Brazil but is absent
from the western Gulf of Mexico and most of the Caribbean.
ELECTRIC RAYS or NUMBFISHES (Familiy Narcinidae)
- Lesser Electric Ray (t1) ______ (ATMF:54)
(FGCF:83)
Narcine bancroftii (was brasiliensis)
(in Narcinidae)
AMERICAN ROUND STINGRAYS (Famiy Urotrygonidae)
- Yellow Stingray (ph)
(*) ______
JM
(ATMF:61) (FGCF:89)
Urobatis jamaicensis

Yellow Stingray
WHIPTAIL STINGRAYS (Family Dasyatidae)
- Southern Stingray (*) ______ CY
HS
JM (ATMF:59,60) (FGCF:91)
Dasyatis americana
- Longnose Stingray
______ DM HS
Dasyatis guttata
- Bluntnose Stingray
______ (ATMF:58) (FGCF:91)
Dasyatis say
- Chupare Stingray ______ DM
HS
Himantura schmardae
The Chupare Stingray
occurs in the Antilles and the Bahamas.
- Pelagic Stingray
______ (FGCF:91)
Pteroplatytrygon violacea
SAWFISHES (Family
Pristidae)
- Smalltooth Sawfish (t1)
______ (ATMF:53) (FGCF:83)
Pristis pectinata
GUITARFISHES
(Family Rhinobatidae)
- Southern Guitarfish ______
Rhinobatos percellens
The Southern Guitarfish occurs in
the southern Caribbean, and south to Argentina.
OCEAN SUNFISHES (Family
Molidae)
Large fish with disc-like bodies, lacking a tail.
- Ocean Sunfish (ph) ______
(ATMF:417) (FGCF:427) (species described by Linnaeus in 1758)
Mola mola
The Oceanic Sunfish can grow up to 11.5 feet and weigh up to 2 tons.

An Oceanic Sunfish
photographed during a FONT pelagic trip
GOOSEFISHES (Family Lophiidae)
- Reticulate
Goosefish ______
Lophiodes reticulatus
FROGFISHES (Family Antennariidae)
- Longlure Frogfish
______ (ATMF:95) (FGCF:137)
Antennarius multiocellatus
- Ocellated Frogfish
______ (ATMF:96) (FGCF:137)
Antennarius ocellatus
- Dwarf Frogfish
______ (ATMF:97) (FGCF:137)
Antennarius pauciradiatus
- Singlespot Frogfish ______
(FGCF:137)
Antennarius radiosus
- Striated Frogfish
______ (ATMF:98) (FGCF:137)
Antennarius striatus
- Sargassum Fish ______ CY
(ATMF:99) (FGCF:137) (species described by Linnaeus in
1758)
Histrio histrio
BATFISHES (Family Ogcocephalidae)
- Atlantic Batfish ______
(FGCF:139)
Dibranchus atlanticus
The Atlantic Batfish occurs in
the Lesser Antilles.
- Pancake Batfish ______
(FGCF:139)
Halieutic aculeatus
- Longnose Batfish ______
(ATMF:139)
Ogcocephalus corniger
- Polka-dot Batfish ______
(ATMF:139)
Ogcocephalus cubifrons
The Polka-dot Batfish
occurs in the Bahamas.
- Shortnose Batfish
______ CY (ATMF:100) (FGCF:141)
Ogcocephalus nasutus
- Roughback Batfish ______
(FGCF:141)
Ogcocephalus parvus
- Tricorn Batfish ______
(FGCF:141) (species described in 1952)