Found over muddy and sandy bottoms in coastal waters and in estuaries where the nursery and feeding grounds are located. Adults form schools. Feeding habits vary with ontogenic development and season; juveniles feed on benthic migratory crustaceans and sessile boring mollusks while adults are benthos-feeders and occasionally capture fish (Ref. 27). Undergoes seasonal migration. An important food fish which is usually marketed fresh and salted.

Western Atlantic: Greater Antilles and from Costa Rica to Argentina (Ref. 9626). Also reported in Nicaragua (Ref. 13613).

Gulf of Mexico

Southwestern Atlantic.

Western Atlantic.

Dorsal spines (total): 11; Dorsal soft rays (total): 26 - 30; Analspines: 2; Analsoft rays: 7 - 9

Maximum size: 600 mm TL

60.0 cm SL (male/unsexed; (Ref. 27363)); max. reported age: 7 years (Ref. 27)

Body silvery with a golden cast, back greyish, with distinct oblique dark streaks along scale rows extending to much below lateral line; spinous dorsal without small dark dots (Ref. 27363).

demersal; oceanodromous (Ref. 51243); brackish; marine; depth range ? - 60 m (Ref. 9626), usually 20 - 40 m (Ref. 9626)

Depth range based on 44 specimens in 1 taxon.
Water temperature and chemistry ranges based on 29 samples.

Environmental ranges
  Depth range (m): 0.4 - 142
  Temperature range (°C): 7.904 - 27.555
  Nitrate (umol/L): 0.301 - 14.902
  Salinity (PPS): 31.427 - 37.096
  Oxygen (ml/l): 4.363 - 5.894
  Phosphate (umol/l): 0.095 - 1.676
  Silicate (umol/l): 1.250 - 11.021

Graphical representation

Depth range (m): 0.4 - 142

Temperature range (°C): 7.904 - 27.555

Nitrate (umol/L): 0.301 - 14.902

Salinity (PPS): 31.427 - 37.096

Oxygen (ml/l): 4.363 - 5.894

Phosphate (umol/l): 0.095 - 1.676

Silicate (umol/l): 1.250 - 11.021
 
Note: this information has not been validated. Check this *note*. Your feedback is most welcome.

Depth: 0 - 60m.
Recorded at 60 meters.

Habitat: demersal.

Oceanodromous. Migrating within oceans typically between spawning and different feeding areas, as tunas do. Migrations should be cyclical and predictable and cover more than 100 km.

Found over muddy and sandy bottoms in coastal waters and in estuaries where the nursery and feeding grounds are located. Adults form schools. Feeding habits vary with ontogenic development and season; juveniles feed on benthic migratory crustaceans and sessile boring mollusks while adults are benthos-feeders and occasionally capture fish (Ref. 27). Juveniles 10 cm TL were capable of consuming larger prey items than those in their stomachs, indicating that the maximum size of prey eaten was not constrained by mouth gape (Ref. 55704). Undergoes seasonal migration.

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: 8
Specimens with Barcodes: 36
Species With Barcodes: 1

Not Evaluated

fisheries: highly commercial; price category: medium; price reliability: reliable: based on ex-vessel price for this species