Cynoscion nothus
Collection Details
Specimens
Photos
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Records
Taxonomic Hierarchy
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned Fishes)
Perciformes (Perciformes, Also Called the Acanthopteri)
Sciaenidae (Drums and Croakers)
Cynoscion
Cynoscion nothus (Silver 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.
It may contain errors in spelling, punctuation, or formatting.
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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 nearly extending to posterior margin of eye; posterior naris slitlike and larger than anterior naris; teeth in upper jaw conical and arranged in a narrow band; teeth in lower jaw slightly larger, arranged in a single row except at tip; snout with two marginal pores; chin lacks pores and barbels; preopercular margin entire; gill rakers on first arch long and slender, 11-15; head length 30%-31% SL; snout length 7%-8% SL; eye diameter 7%-8% SL; interorbital width 6%-7% SL; upper jaw length 13%-14% SL; pectoral fin length about 17% SL; body depth 23%-26% SL; pectoral fin with 15-17 rays; dorsal fin with 10 spines and 1 spine and 26-31 rays; anal fin with 2 spines and 8-11 rays; caudal fin rhomboidal to truncate; scales ctenoid on body and cycloid on head; gas bladder single-chambered with a pair of hornlike diverticula anteriorly
Grayish dorsally and silvery ventrally; occasionally with faint irregular rows of spots on upper side; dorsal fin dusky; other fins pale
Distribution
Western Atlantic from Maryland to the Gulf of Mexico
Throughout the Gulf of Mexico
Habitat Associations
Coastal waters over sandy bottoms along beaches
Sandy bottoms
Biology
Crustaceans and ray-finned fishes
Maximum known size is 360 mm TL
Maturity reached between 140 and 170 mm SL at the end of the first year; spawning occurs from early May through late October, most intense in May and August-September
Occurs usually over sandy bottoms in inshore waters along beaches and in river mouths. Feeds mainly on crustaceans and fishes.
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC), assessed 2019-10-15. Resilience: Medium (K=0.22).
Phylogeny and Morphologically Similar Fishes
Records of C. jamaicensis from the Gulf of Mexico may be this species
Commercial or Environmental Importance
Fisheries: minor commercial; gamefish.
References
Hoese and Moore 1977
Chao 1978
Johnson 1978
Shlossman and Chittenden 1981
Robins and Ray 1986
Boschung 1992
Schaldach et al. 1997
Smith 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.
Welsh, W. and G. Breder (1924) Contribution to the life history of Sciaenidae of the U.S. East Coast. Fish. Bull. 39(945):141-201.
Tapia García, M., A. Yáñez-Arancibia, P. Sánchez-Gil and M. de la C. García-Abad (1988) Biología y ecología de Cynoscion nothus (Holbrook), en las comunidades demersales de la plataforma continental del sur del Golfo del México (Pisces: Sciaenidae). Rev. Biol. Trop. 36(1):29-54.
Chao, L.N. (1978) Sciaenidae. In W. Fischer (ed.) FAO species identification sheets for fishery purposes. West Atlantic (Fishing Area 31). Volume 4. FAO, Rome.
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.
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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