Barred Serrano, Serranus psittacinus
Barred Serrano, Serranus psittacinus, Juvenile. Underwater photograph taken in coastal waters of the greater Los Cabos area, Baja California Sur, May 2018. Photograph courtesy of Bob Hillis, Ivins, Utah.
Barred Serrano, Serranus psittacinus, Juvenile. Fish caught from coastal waters off Point Palmilla, Baja California Sur, February 2019. Length: 16 cm (6.3 inches).
Barred Serrano, Serranus psittacinus. Fish caught from coastal waters off Point Palmilla, Baja California Sur, November 2013. Length: 18 cm (7.1 inches).
Barred Serrano, Serranus psittacinus. Fish caught from coastal waters of Isla San Jorge (Bird Island) in the northern Sea of Cortez, November 2021. Length: 18 cm (7.1 inches). Catch, photograph and identification courtesy of Chris Moore, Peoria, Arizona.
Barred Serrano, Serranus psittacinus. Underwater photograph taken in Zihuantanejo Bay, Guerrero, December 2019. Photograph and identification courtesy of Maude Jette, Dive Zihuantanejo, www.Divezihuatanejo.com.
The Barred Serrano, Serranus psittacinus, is a member of the Sea Bass or Serranidae Family, and is known in Mexico as serrano guaseta. Globally, there are twenty-seven species in the genus Serranus, of which thirteen are found in Mexican waters, ten in the Atlantic and three in the Pacific Ocean.
The Barred Serrano has an elongated moderately compressed body. They are highly colored being brown above and white below. They are characterized by a series of 7 to 9 broad vertically elongated dark bars on each side, about 6 to 8 brown-orange blotches below the lateral mid-line, and a multitude of small orange spots on all of the fins. The dorsal fin is trimmed in orange transitioning to transparent in the rear. There is a prominent silver line that runs from under the eye to the pectoral fins in adults. Also, there are a series of small black spots on the body just above the pectoral fin insertion. The juveniles are more highly colored than the adults. Their anal fin has 3 spines and 7 rays; their caudal fin has a blunt margin; their first dorsal fin has 9 to 11 spines; their second dorsal fin has 11 to 13 rays; and their pectoral fins has 17 rays and are short and do not reach the anus. The have 10 to 12 gill rakers on the lower arch. They are covered with rough scales.
The Barred Serrano is found within small patch reefs or rocky outcrops in sand-rubble areas at depths up to 89 m (292 feet). This maximum depth was established by a fish I caught in July 2016. They reach a maximum of 18 cm (7.1 inches) in length and are virtually weightless. The Barred Seranno is poorly studied with very limited information available about their lifestyle and behavioral patterns including specific details on age, growth, longevity, movement patterns, diet, habitat use, and reproduction.y are a small, deep water species and very little is known about their behavioral patterns.
The Barred Serrano is a resident of all Mexican waters of the Pacific with the exception that they are absent from Guerrero Negro, Baja California, northward along the central and northwest coasts of Baja.
The Barred Serrano is similar in size and shape as the Deepwater Serrano, Serranus aequidens, and the Flag Serrano, Serranus huascarii but due to its extensive markings is not easily confused with these or any other species.
From a conservation perspective the Barred Serrano is currently considered to be of Least Concern with stable, widely distributed populations. They are a fairly common catch by hook and line but too small in stature to be of interest to most and as a “catch and release” they will normally return to the deep immediately. They are one of the very few species that can be caught with regularity from both relative shallow water (less than 15 m, 50 feet) to relatively deep water (121 m, 400 feet) on the same day.