Highhat

The highhat is a small reef fish that seems to be dressed for a formal event, its body wrapped in crisp black and white stripes. It grows to about 18 cm, sometimes reaching 23 cm, and often hides in the shade of a ledge rather than swimming in the open.

Also known as: high-hat, donkey fish, cluck, ribbonfish, steindachner's ribbonfish, streaked ribbonfish, striped drum, striped equetus, striped ribbonfish

Several small reef fish wear black and white stripes, but the highhat's first dorsal fin is unusually tall and comes to a sharp point, standing up like a raised sail rather than lying low along the back.

The body is deep and diamond-shaped, with a strongly arched back and a low, pointed snout that sticks out past the mouth. Fine black and white stripes run along the pale body and head, the dark bands roughly as wide as the pale ones between them. The first dorsal fin stands tall and pointed, and in young fish the pelvic fins trail out much longer than in adults.

Highhats live around coral reefs in clear tropical water, and also turn up nearby over rubble bottoms or along the crumbling edges of seagrass beds. They range through the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico, often tucked under ledges or ridges by day.

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  croakers_g308

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