Centropomus mexicanus
Largescale Fat Snook
Collection Details
Specimens
Photos
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Records
Taxonomic Hierarchy
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned Fishes)
Perciformes (Perciformes, Also Called the Acanthopteri)
Centropomidae (Snooks)
Centropomus
Centropomus mexicanus (Largescale Fat Snook)
Description
This species account was compiled from
Composite (multiple sources) (McEachran, J.D. and J.D. Fechhelm. Fishes of the Gulf of Mexico. University of Texas Press, Austin.)
and processed using AI-assisted text extraction.
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Characters
Pelvic fins reach to or beyond anus; moderately long second anal fin spines; relatively small scales; upper jaw extends to about center of eye; gill rakers on first arch, including rudiments, number 21 to 24; measurements (% SL): head length 35%–39%, snout length 9%–12%, upper jaw length 14%–16%, lower jaw length 20%–22%, pectoral fin length 19%–22%, pelvic fin length 20%–24%, anal fin origin to anus 13%–14%; pectoral fin has 14 to 16 rays; second dorsal fin has one slender spine and 10 (rarely 9) rays; anal fin has three spines, with second spine very broad and longer than third, and 6 rays; pored lateral line scales number 62 to 66; scales in horizontal series from posttemporal region to caudal fin base number 68 to 78; scales from origin of second dorsal fin base to lateral line number 10 to 15; scales from lateral line to origin of anal fin number 12 to 16 (usually 12 to 15)
Yellow brown to brownish green dorsally and silvery on sides and belly, with dark line along course of lateral line; pelvic fin is pale
Distribution
Western Atlantic from the southern Gulf of Mexico to southern Brazil, including the Greater and Lesser Antilles
Southern Gulf of Mexico
Habitat Associations
Coastal waters and estuaries
Biology
Maximum known size is 430 mm FL
Occurs in mouths of rivers and the littoral zone; spawns on banks; feeds on small fish and crustaceans (Ref. 35237). Juveniles bear conspicuous black tip on the dorsal fin and often join foraging groups of similarly sized and looking flagfin mojarras, Eucinostomus melanopterus. The snooks mingle with the mojarras and prey on fishes and shrimps attracted to the digging activity of the mojarras. The resemblance to a fish harmless to shrimps and small fishes allows the snook to approach this otherwise wary prey, an example of aggressive mimicry (Ref. 43465).
Reproductive mode: dioecism; fertilization: external; nonguarders (open water/substratum egg scatterers); parental care: none. Spawn in banks. Juveniles frequent in mangrove areas and flood zones (Ref. 35237).
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC), assessed 2019-02-07. Resilience: Medium (tm=3-4; Fec=800,000).
Commercial or Environmental Importance
Fisheries: commercial; gamefish.
References
Fraser 1968
Fraser 1978b
Rivas 1986
Cervigón 1991
Cervigón 1993b
Castro-Aguirre et al. 1999
Orrell 2002a
Breder, C.M. and D.E. Rosen (1966) Modes of reproduction in fishes. T.F.H. Publications, Neptune City, New Jersey. 941 p.
Cervigón, F., R. Cipriani, W. Fischer, L. Garibaldi, M. Hendrickx, A.J. Lemus, R. Márquez, J.M. Poutiers, G. Robaina and B. Rodriguez (1992) Fichas FAO de identificación de especies para los fines de la pesca. Guía de campo de las especies comerciales marinas y de aquas salobres de la costa septentrional de Sur América. FAO, Rome. 513 p. Preparado con el financiamento de la Comisión de Comunidades Europeas y de NORAD.
Keith, P., P.-Y. Le Bail and P. Planquette (2000) Atlas des poissons d'eau douce de Guyane. Tome 2, Fascicule I: Batrachoidiformes, Mugiliformes, Beloniformes, Cyprinodontiformes, Synbranchiformes, Perciformes, Pleuronectiformes, Tetraodontiformes. Collection Patrimoines Naturels 43(I): 286p. Paris: Publications scientifiques du Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle.
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