Occurs usually over sandy bottoms in shallow coastal waters, being relatively abundant in the surf zone. During summer months the fish move to their nursery and feeding grounds in river estuaries.

Western Atlantic: Florida, USA and Gulf of Mexico to Bay of Campeche, Mexico.

Gulf of Mexico

United States

Origin: Native

Regularity: Regularly occurring

Currently: Present

Confidence: Confident

Type of Residency: Year-round

Western Atlantic.

Dorsal spines (total): 9 - 11; Dorsal soft rays (total): 25 - 29; Analspines: 2; Analsoft rays: 10 - 12

Maximum size: 450 mm ---

63.5 cm TL (male/unsexed; (Ref. 40637)); max. published weight: 2,780 g (Ref. 40637)

Colour uniform silvery grey above, without conspicuous spots, silvery below. Pelvic and anal fins pale to yellowish. A faint dark area at bases and axial of pectoral fins. Inside opercle darkish, often visible externally. Mouth large, oblique, lower jaw slightly projecting. Upper jaw with a pair of large canine-like teeth at tip. Lower jaw with a row of widely spaced larger inner-row teeth, gradually increasing in size posteriorly. Chin without barbel or pore, snout with 2 marginal pores. Gas bladder with a pair of horn-like anterior appendages. Soft portion of dorsal fin with few small scales rows at base between soft fin rays (Ref 51721).

Type for Cynoscion arenarius
Catalog Number: USNM 89395
Collection: Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of Natural History, Department of Vertebrate Zoology, Division of Fishes
Preparation: Illustration
Year Collected: 1917
Locality: Off entrance to harbor, Galveston, Texas, Texas, United States, Gulf of Mexico, Atlantic
Vessel: Grampus

demersal; brackish; marine

Depth range based on 23 specimens in 1 taxon.
Water temperature and chemistry ranges based on 17 samples.

Environmental ranges
  Depth range (m): 1 - 54
  Temperature range (°C): 22.006 - 23.636
  Nitrate (umol/L): 0.325 - 1.990
  Salinity (PPS): 35.652 - 36.251
  Oxygen (ml/l): 4.658 - 4.893
  Phosphate (umol/l): 0.110 - 0.424
  Silicate (umol/l): 0.756 - 2.629

Graphical representation

Depth range (m): 1 - 54

Temperature range (°C): 22.006 - 23.636

Nitrate (umol/L): 0.325 - 1.990

Salinity (PPS): 35.652 - 36.251

Oxygen (ml/l): 4.658 - 4.893

Phosphate (umol/l): 0.110 - 0.424

Silicate (umol/l): 0.756 - 2.629
 
Note: this information has not been validated. Check this *note*. Your feedback is most welcome.

Habitat Type: Marine

Non-Migrant: No. All populations of this species make significant seasonal migrations.

Locally Migrant: No. No populations of this species make local extended movements (generally less than 200 km) at particular times of the year (e.g., to breeding or wintering grounds, to hibernation sites).

Locally Migrant: No. No populations of this species make annual migrations of over 200 km.

The following is a representative barcode sequence, the centroid of all available sequences for this species.


There is 1 barcode sequence available from BOLD and GenBank.   Below is the sequence of the barcode region Cytochrome oxidase subunit 1 (COI or COX1) from a member of the species.  See the BOLD taxonomy browser for more complete information about this specimen.  Other sequences that do not yet meet barcode criteria may also be available.


Download FASTA File

Barcode of Life Data Systems (BOLDS) Stats
Public Records: 1
Specimens with Barcodes: 6
Species With Barcodes: 1

United States

Rounded National Status Rank: NNR - Unranked

Rounded Global Status Rank: GNR - Not Yet Ranked

Not Evaluated

fisheries: commercial