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harlequin bass

Serranus tigrinus (Bloch, 1790)

Source-backed taxonomic record

Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.

The Harlequin Bass (Serranus tigrinus) is an unusual striking yellow and black mottled color on the ventral side, with black and white mottling on the dorsal half. The Harlequin Bass can be found in the Western Atlantic,Bermuda and southern Florida, USA to northern South America, throughout the Caribbean, including Antilles.

The Harlequin Bass (Serranus tigrinus) is an unusual striking yellow and black mottled color on the ventral side, with black and white mottling on the dorsal half. The Harlequin Bass can be found in the Western Atlantic,Bermuda and southern Florida, USA to northern South America, throughout the Caribbean, including Antilles.

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Open encyclopedia reference

Serranus tigrinus, the harlequin bass, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a sea bass from the subfamily Serraninae, which is a part of the family Serranidae, which also includes the groupers and the anthias. It can be found in the western Atlantic Ocean, and also in aquarium trades.

Wikipedia contributors, Serranus tigrinus; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T04:10:28.341317+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.

Identity & source status

Scientific name
Serranus tigrinus (Bloch, 1790)
Name authority
(Bloch, 1790)
Common name
harlequin bass
Rank
species
Accepted status
accepted
Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
Chordata
Class
Teleostei
Order
Perciformes
Family
Serranidae
Genus
Serranus
Extinction status
Not supplied by this source

Source habitat flags: Marine: yes · Freshwater: no · Terrestrial: no. These do not form a complete habitat description.

Classification family tree

Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.

  1. domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
  2. kingdomAnimalia
  3. phylumChordata
  4. subphylumVertebrata
  5. infraphylumGnathostomata
  6. parvphylumOsteichthyes
  7. gigaclassActinopterygii
  8. superclassActinopteri
  9. classTeleostei
  10. orderPerciformes
  11. suborderPercoidei
  12. familySerranidae Swainson, 1839
  13. genusSerranus Cuvier, 1816
  14. speciesSerranus tigrinus (Bloch, 1790)

Close classified relatives

These entries share the source’s genus, Serranus. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.

SpeciesClassificationSource status
Serranus accraensis (Norman, 1931)SerranidaeChordataAccepted speciesExtinction status not supplied
blacktail comberSerranus atricauda Günther, 1874SerranidaeChordataAccepted speciesExtinction status not supplied
blackear bassSerranus atrobranchus (Cuvier, 1829)SerranidaeChordataAccepted speciesExtinction status not supplied
Serranus hepatus (Linnaeus, 1758)SerranidaeChordataAccepted speciesExtinction status not supplied
Serranus maytagi Robins & Starck, 1961SerranidaeChordataAccepted speciesExtinction status not supplied
Serranus novemcinctus Kner, 1864SerranidaeChordataAccepted speciesExtinction status not supplied
Serranus pulcher Wirtz & Iwamoto, 2016SerranidaeChordataAccepted speciesExtinction status not supplied
Serranus sanctaehelenae Boulenger, 1895SerranidaeChordataAccepted speciesExtinction status not supplied
belted sandfishSerranus subligarius (Cope, 1870)SerranidaeChordataAccepted speciesExtinction status not supplied
Serranus tico Allen & Robertson, 1998SerranidaeChordataAccepted speciesExtinction status not supplied
chalk bassSerranus tortugarum Longley, 1935SerranidaeChordataAccepted speciesExtinction status not supplied
lantern bassSerranus baldwini (Evermann & Marsh, 1899)SerranidaeChordataAccepted speciesExtinction status not supplied

Browse 89 records assigned to Serranidae.

Names & synonyms

Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.

Recorded nameSource status
Holocentrus tigrinus Bloch, 1790 Bloch, 1790synonym

Source literature & publication evidence

References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.

  1. https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=273909 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references

Origins, evidence & remaining research

Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.

Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record.

Dataset citation & attribution

This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11

Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.

Stable key: col:4WX8H. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.