Gerres cinereus
Yellowfin Mojarra
NS
GNR
Taxonomic Hierarchy
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned Fishes)
Perciformes (Perciformes, Also Called the Acanthopteri)
Gerreidae (Mojarras)
Gerres
Gerres cinereus (Yellowfin Mojarra)
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
Rather deep bodied, with gas bladder bifurcating and passing on either side of first interhaemal radial; snout acute and beaklike; maxilla extends to about midlength of eye; gill rakers on first arch very short, 5-6 on upper limb and 7-8 on lower limb; measurements (% SL): head length 33%-35%, upper jaw length 12%-13%, eye diameter 10%-13%, last dorsal fin spine length 9%-10%, depressed anal fin length 22%-25%, second anal fin spine length 13%-18%, body depth 38%-42%, caudal peduncle depth 11%-12%; pectoral fin with 15 or 16 rays; dorsal fin with 9 spines and 10 rays; anal fin with 3 spines and 7 rays, second spine very stout; pored lateral line scales 42-46
Pale tan, slightly darker dorsally than ventrally, with 7 or 8 dark brown bars on sides; pelvic fin yellow
Distribution
Western Atlantic from Florida and Bermuda to southeastern Brazil, including the Gulf of Mexico, the Bahamas, and the Antilles
Rare in the northwestern Gulf of Mexico, but common along the coasts of Tamaulipas, Veracruz, Tabasco, and Campeche
Habitat Associations
Coastal waters, associated with open sandy beaches, sea-grass beds, mangrove habitats, and coral reefs
Open sandy beaches, sea-grass beds, mangrove habitats, and coral reefs
Biology
Benthic invertebrates
Maximum known size 410 mm TL
Inhabits shallow coastal waters in open sandy and surf areas, seagrass beds, near reefs, and mangrove channels (Ref. 7251). Enters brackish water, sometimes even fresh water (Ref. 3722). May occur in small aggregations (Ref. 3722). Feeds on benthic invertebrates such as worms, clams, crustaceans (Ref. 3722); also feeds on insects (Ref. 9303). Often seen feeding in sand patches among reefs by thrusting its mouth into the sediment and expelling sand from the gill openings (Ref. 13442). Easily approached (Ref. 9710). Marketed fresh but not highly esteemed; also processed into fishmeal (Ref. 3722).
Reproductive mode: dioecism; fertilization: external; nonguarders (open water/substratum egg scatterers); parental care: none.
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC), assessed 2010-03-01. Resilience: Medium (K=0.3-0.60; tm=1.5).
Commercial or Environmental Importance
Fisheries: minor commercial; gamefish.
References
Longley and Hildebrand 1941
Böhlke and Chaplin 1968
Randall 1968a
Randall 1996
Boschung 1992
Cervigón 1993b
Schaldach et al. 1997
Vega-Cendejas et al. 1997
Smith 1997
Castro-Aguirre et al. 1999
Smith-Vaniz et al. 1999
Gilmore and Greenfield 2002
Randall, J.E. (1967) Food habits of reef fishes of the West Indies. Stud. Trop. Oceanogr. Miami 5:665-847.
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.
Bussing, W.A. (1995) Gerreidae. Mojarras. p. 1114-1128. In W. Fischer, F. Krupp, W. Schneider, C. Sommer, K.E. Carpenter and V. Niem (eds.) Guia FAO para Identification de Especies para lo Fines de la Pesca. Pacifico Centro-Oriental. 3 Vols. FAO, Rome.
Lieske, E. and R. Myers (1994) Collins Pocket Guide. Coral reef fishes. Indo-Pacific & Caribbean including the Red Sea. Haper Collins Publishers, 400 p.
Randall, J.E. (1996) Caribbean reef fishes. Third Edition - revised and enlarged. T.F.H. Publications, Inc. Ltd., Hong Kong. 3nd ed. 368 p.
Dominici-Arosemena, A. and M. Wolff (2005) Reef fish community structure in Bocas del Toro (Caribbean, Panamá): Gradients in habitat complexity and exposure. Caribbean J. Sci. 41(3):613-637.
Patzner, R.A. (2008) Reproductive strategies of fish. pp. 311-350. In Rocha, M.J., A. Arukwe and B.G. Kapoor (eds). Fish reproduction: cytology, biology and ecology. Science Publisher, Inc. Oxford. 631 p.
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