''Caulolatilus chrysops'', the Atlantic goldeneye tilefish or gold face tilefish, is a species of marine

ray-finned fish Actinopterygii (; ), members of which are known as ray-finned fishes, is a class of bony fish. They comprise over 50% of living vertebrate species. The ray-finned fishes are so called because their fins are webs of skin supported by bony or hor ...

, a tilefish belonging to the

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

Malacanthidae. It occurs in the western Atlantic Ocean.

Description

''Caulolatilus chrysops'' has a sturdy, quadrangular body with a relatively deep head which has a rounded profile. There is a fleshy ridge along the centreline of the body in front of the

dorsal fin A dorsal fin is a fin located on the back of most marine and freshwater vertebrates within various taxa of the animal kingdom. Many species of animals possessing dorsal fins are not particularly closely related to each other, though through conv ...

. The gill cover has a short blunt spine and serrations along its vertical margin. It has a violet body with a pale yellow tint on the back and upper flanks, the lower flanks have a silvery sheen, becoming pearly white on the abdomen. The fleshy predorsal ridge is not pigmented. There is a wide, vivid yellow streak running from beneath the eye to just above the nostrils with a bright blue line beneath this. The iris is golden. The dorsal fin has a whitish base with the rest of the fin being mottled grey and yellow with a white margin. There is a black blotch above the

pectoral fin Fins are distinctive anatomical features composed of bony spines or rays protruding from the body of a fish. They are covered with skin and joined together either in a webbed fashion, as seen in most bony fish, or similar to a flipper, as ...

which has a yellow inner base. The

anal fin Fins are distinctive anatomical features composed of bony spines or rays protruding from the body of a fish. They are covered with skin and joined together either in a webbed fashion, as seen in most bony fish, or similar to a flipper, as se ...

has an in distinct dusky band in its centre on a pearly white background colour. The

caudal fin Fins are distinctive anatomical features composed of bony spines or rays protruding from the body of a fish. They are covered with skin and joined together either in a webbed fashion, as seen in most bony fish, or similar to a flipper, as se ...

is marked with small yellow spots. The dorsal fin contains 7 or 8, occasionally 6, spines and 23-27 soft rays while the anal fin has 1 or 2 spines, the first spine being reduced, and 20-26 soft rays. This species attains a maximum

total length Fish measurement is the measuring of individual fish and various parts of their anatomies. These data are used in many areas of ichthyology, including taxonomy and fisheries biology. Overall length * Standard length (SL) is the length of a fish ...

of but is a more common length.

Distribution

''Caulolatilus chrysops'' is found in the Western Atlantic Ocean. It occurs as far north as

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

and southwards through the

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an oceanic basin, ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of ...

. It is absent from much of the Caribbean but occurs along the northern coast of South America from Venezuela to

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...

Habitat and biology

''Caulolatilus chrysops'' is found near the bottom, at depths from , where it has been recorded on a substrate consisting of a rubble of shell and coral fragments. This species associates with '' C. microps'' and '' C. cyanops''. However this species is less numerous than either of those species, it is found greater depths than ''C. microps'', but at lesser depths than ''C. cyanops''. It forages on or just above the substrate and its diet is mainly crustaceans and other invertebrates, with some small fish. It is long-lived, able to reach 30–35 years old.

Systematics

''Caulolatilus chrysops'' was first formally described as ''Latilus chrysops'' in 1833 by the

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

zoologist Zoology ()The pronunciation of zoology as is usually regarded as nonstandard, though it is not uncommon. is the branch of biology that studies the Animal, animal kingdom, including the anatomy, structure, embryology, evolution, Biological clas ...

Achille Valenciennes (1795-1865) with the type locality given as Brazil. It is the

type species In zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the species that contains the biological type specimen ...

of the

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

Caulolatilus ''Caulolatilus'' is a genus of tilefishes native to the Pacific and Atlantic coasts of the Americas. This genus is regarded as the least specialised and the most basal of the tilefishes. Species There are currently 11 recognized species in this ...

''. The specific name ''chrysops'' means gold-eye and refers to the Golden yellow stripe between the eye and mouth.

Utilisation

''Caulolatilus chrysops'' is a minor component of the

sport fishing Recreational fishing, also called sport fishing or game fishing, is fishing for leisure, exercise or competition. It can be contrasted with commercial fishing, which is professional fishing for profit; or subsistence fishing, which is fishing ...

catch in the western Atlantic. It is a target species for commercial fisheries and is normally sold fresh. Tilefish are a quarry for the deep-water fishery of

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...

which uses bottom lines and fish traps to take them. Brazil catches more of this species than other states with waters within its range for the

aquarium An aquarium (plural: ''aquariums'' or ''aquaria'') is a vivarium of any size having at least one transparent side in which aquatic plants or animals are kept and displayed. Fishkeepers use aquaria to keep fish, invertebrates, amphibians, aq ...

trade. It is taken as

bycatch Bycatch (or by-catch), in the fishing industry, is a fish or other marine species that is caught unintentionally while fishing for specific species or sizes of wildlife. Bycatch is either the wrong species, the wrong sex, or is undersized or juve ...

in the shrimp fishery and in the

scampi Scampi, also called Dublin Bay Prawn or Norway Lobster (''Nephrops norvegicus''), is an edible lobster of the order '' Decapoda''. It is widespread in the Mediterranean and northeastern Atlantic, from North Africa to Norway and Iceland, and i ...

fishery of

São Paulo State SAO or Sao may refer to: Places * Sao civilisation, in Middle Africa from 6th century BC to 16th century AD * Sao, a town in Boussé Department, Burkina Faso * Saco Transportation Center (station code SAO), a train station in Saco, Maine, U.S ...

where it has commercial value. Tilefishes are targeted by commercial and sports fisheries in the southeastern United States and the Gulf of Mexico.

References

{{taxonbar, from=Q2803706

chrysops Deer flies (also known in some parts of the mid-Atlantic United States as sheep flies) are bloodsucking insects considered pests to humans and cattle. They are large flies with large brightly-coloured compound eyes, and large clear wings with da ...

Fish described in 1933