Sufflamen fraenatus is a species that dwells relatively deep in the ocean, with its most common habitat being atoll basins; S. capistratus Shaw is a synonym for this species.
Details
§ 01
size
Max. 38 cm
color
Brown to pale brown with a pale yellowish ring around mouth and a narrow pale yellowish band across chin. Juveniles with longitudinal dark brown lines.
This species is typically found in depths greater than 25 meters and feeds on a variety of sea creatures, such as sea urchins, heart urchins, brittle stars, fishes, bivalve molluscs, tunicates, and crustaceans.
distinctive characters
The dorsal fin has three spines and 27-31 rays, the anal fin has 24-28 rays, the pectoral fin has 14-15 rays, the cheeks are scaled, there is a deep groove in front of the eye, and there are longitudinal scale ridges on the posterior part of the body extending forward to the middle of the body. The caudal fin is rounded in young fish and truncate to slightly emarginate in adults.