Cynoscion nebulosus
Taxonomic Hierarchy
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned Fishes)
Perciformes (Perciformes, Also Called the Acanthopteri)
Sciaenidae (Drums and Croakers)
Cynoscion
Cynoscion nebulosus (Spotted Seatrout)
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
Elongate body; large, oblique mouth; large canine teeth in tip of upper jaw; dorsal profile of head nearly straight; snout acute, lower jaw slightly projecting; upper jaw extending to posterior margin of eye; posterior naris slitlike and larger than anterior naris; teeth conical, in a narrow band; outer row slightly enlarged in upper jaw, inner row distinctly enlarged and increasing in size posteriorly in lower jaw; snout with two marginal pores, chin lacking pores and barbels; preopercular margin entire; gill rakers on first arch short and slender, 9 to 12; head length 30%–33% SL, snout length 8%–9% SL, eye diameter 5%–7% SL, interorbital width 5%–6% SL, upper jaw length 13%–14% SL, pectoral fin length 12%–15% SL, body depth 21%–26% SL; pectoral fin with 15 to 18 rays; dorsal fin with 9 or 10 spines in anterior section and 1 spine and 25 to 28 rays in posterior section; anal fin with 2 spines and 10 or 11 rays; caudal fin truncate to emarginate; scales ctenoid on body and cycloid on head; rayed section of dorsal fin with two or three rows of scales on base; gas bladder single-chambered with a pair of prominent, straight, hornlike diverticula anteriorly
Dark gray with bluish reflections dorsally and numerous black spots; silvery or whitish ventrally; spinous section of dorsal fin dusky; other fins pale to yellowish; rayed section of dorsal fin and caudal fin spotted with black
Distribution
Western Atlantic from New York to the southern Gulf of Mexico
Habitat Associations
Coastal waters; associated with sandy bottoms, sea-grass beds, and estuaries; estuaries serve as nursery grounds
Sandy bottoms, sea-grass beds
Biology
Crustaceans and ray-finned fishes
Maximum known size is 700 mm TL
Inhabits river estuaries and shallow coastal marine waters over sand bottoms, often associated with seagrass beds. Also occurs in salt marshes and tidal pools of high salinity. Feeds mainly on crustaceans and fishes. An important food and sport fish throughout its range. Utilized fresh for steaming, broiling and baking (Ref. 9988).
Reproductive mode: dioecism; fertilization: external; nonguarders (open water/substratum egg scatterers); parental care: none.
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC), assessed 2019-02-03. Resilience: Medium (K=0.2-0.3; tmax=18; tm=1; Fec=1 million).
Commercial or Environmental Importance
Fisheries: commercial; gamefish.
References
Hoese and Moore 1977
Chao 1978
Johnson 1978
Robins and Ray 1986
Boschung 1992
Schaldach et al. 1997
Smith 1997
Vega-Cendejas et al. 1997
Castro-Aguirre et al. 1999
Hoese and Moore 1998
Chao 2002
Breder, C.M. and D.E. Rosen (1966) Modes of reproduction in fishes. T.F.H. Publications, Neptune City, New Jersey. 941 p.
Robins, C.R. and G.C. Ray (1986) A field guide to Atlantic coast fishes of North America. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, U.S.A. 354 p.
Frimodt, C. (1995) Multilingual illustrated guide to the world's commercial coldwater fish. Fishing News Books, Osney Mead, Oxford, England. 215 p.
IGFA (2001) Database of IGFA angling records until 2001. IGFA, Fort Lauderdale, USA.
Yáñes-Arancibia, A., A.L. Lara-Domínguez and J.W. Day Jr. (1993) Interactions between mangrove and seagrass habitats mediated by estuarine nekton assemblages: coupling of primary and secondary production. Hydrobiologia 264:1-12.
Chao, N.L. (2003) Scianidae. Croakers. p. 1583-1653. In K.E. Carpenter (ed.) FAO species identification guide for fishery purposes. The living marine resources of the Western Central Atlantic. Vol. 3: Bony fishes part 2 (Opistognathidae to Molidae), sea turtles and marine mammals.
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