''Liopropoma emanueli'', the Cape Verde basslet, 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 h ...

, related to the

grouper Groupers are fish of any of a number of genera in the subfamily Epinephelinae of the family Serranidae, in the order Perciformes. Not all serranids are called "groupers"; the family also includes the sea basses. The common name "grouper" is ...

s and classified within the subfamily

Epinephelinae Groupers are fish of any of a number of genera in the subfamily Epinephelinae of the family Serranidae, in the order Perciformes. Not all serranids are called "groupers"; the family also includes the sea basses. The common name "grouper" is ...

of the

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

Serranidae The Serranidae are a large family of fishes belonging to the order Perciformes. The family contains about 450 species in 65 genera, including the sea basses and the groupers (subfamily Epinephelinae). Although many species are small, in some ca ...

. It is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...

to the

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...

waters around Cape Verde, western

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

where it is found in rocky areas at depths of . Its length is 10 to 12 cm.

Description

''Liopropoma emanueli'' shows the angular face which is typical of its genus and has a torpedo shaped body and it can be distinguished from the other species within the genus by have an obviously split

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 c ...

, the spiny part and the soft rayed part are not joined, these are joined in congeners. It is mainly orange to pink in overall colour with a single obvious, wide, yellow stripe extending from the tip of the snout over much of the body. It also has many, thin yellow horizontal, lines along its body. The dorsal fin contains 8 spines and 11 soft rays while the anal fin has 3 spines and 8 soft rays. This species attains a maximum standard length of .

Distribution

''Lioporopoma emanueli'' is

to Cape Verde.

Habitat and biology

''Lioporopoma emanueli'' was first observed along the face of a vertical wall which was covered with the sun coral '' Tubastrea aurea'', at a depth of . When approached it retreated into a small, one of a number of bucket to bathtub-sized cavities in the wall caves. Later more were observed in the same area but even later more fish were later seen in other areas, where there were large boulders clothed with black coral of the genera '' Antipathella'' and '' Tanacetipathes''. In these area the fish took shelter underneath the boulders when approached.

Taxonomy

''Liopropoma emanueli'' was first formally described in 2012 by Peter Wirtz and Ulrich K. Schliewen with the type locality given as Dive site "Danger" near Tarrafal on Santiago, Cape Verde. The specific name honours the biologist, Emanuel d’Oliveira, who accompanied on the Wirtz on the dives which discovered this species.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q13766559 emanueli Fish of West Africa Tropical fish Taxa named by Peter Wirtz Taxa named by Ulrich K. Schliewen Cape Verdes basslet Endemic vertebrates of Cape Verde Fauna of Santiago, Cape Verde