Tattler, Serranus phoebe

Tattler, Serranus phoebe. Fish caught from coastal waters off Sebastian, Florida, May 2022. Length: 15 cm (5.9 inches). Catch, photograph and identification courtesy of Ben Cantrell, Sebastian, Florida.

Tattler, Serranus phoebe. Fish caught from waters of the Florida Middle Grounds, March 2015. Length: 15 cm (6.0 inches). Catch, photograph and identification courtesy of George Brinkman, Guelph, Ontario, Canada.

Tattler, Serranus phoebe. Fish caught from waters off Pulley Ridge, 100 miles west of the Tortugas Ecological Reserve, Florida Keys, August 2019. Length: 20 cm (7.9 inches). Catch, photograph and identification courtesy of George Brinkman, Guelph, Ontario, Canada.

The Tattler, Serranus phoebe, is a member of the Sea Bass or Serranidae Family, and is known in Mexico as serrano dianna. 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 Tattler has an elongated compressed body that has a short head that has a short terminal mouth.  Their head and body are dark chocolate and transition to white ventrally. They have a series of vertical dark brown bars on their body, the first being the width of the eye and extending through and under the eyes; the second being of modest width and extending from the front of the dorsal fin to the lower margin of the gill cover; the third being wide, prominent, and dark and located on the mid-body; and the fourth being shorter and under the posterior portion of the dorsal fin. They have a white patch under and a gold patch behind their gill cover, and a prominent white bar along their back interrupted by a bar. Juveniles have similar markings but with enhanced colors. They have 3 well-developed spines on their gill cover with the middle spine being large and straight. Their anal fin has 3 spine and 7 rays; their caudal fin has a straight margin; their dorsal fin has 10 elevated spines and 12 rays; and, their pelvic fins are located before the pectoral fins. They have 17 to 20 gill rakers. They are covered with large rough scales.

The Tattler is a small deep water species found within reef and rocky structures at depths between 24 m (80 feet) and 396 m (1,300 feet). They reach a maximum of 20.0 cm (7.9 inches) in length. They are generally a non-schooling solitary species and feed on shrimps, crabs, and bivalves. Reproduction involves protogynous hermaphrodites that are capable of changing from female to male as needed. The Tattler 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.

The Tattler is a resident of all Mexican waters of the Atlantic Ocean including the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean.

The Tatler, due to its unique markings, cannot be confused with any other species, although it is similar in size and shape to the Saddle Bass, Serranus notospilus (4 wide bars mid-body).

From a conservation perspective the Tattle is currently considered to be of Least Concern with stable, widely distributed populations. They are fairly common, but due to their small size and location in very deep waters, they are of limited interest to most.