Larimus breviceps
Cabezon
Collection Details
Specimens
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Records
Taxonomic Hierarchy
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned Fishes)
Perciformes (Perciformes, Also Called the Acanthopteri)
Sciaenidae (Drums and Croakers)
Larimus
Larimus breviceps (Cabezon)
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
Relatively deep bodied, with a large, oblique mouth; head has prominent cavernous canals; posterior naris oval shaped; snout moderately blunt, dorsal profile slightly elevated; mouth terminal, lower jaw projects beyond upper jaw; maxilla extends beyond posterior margin of orbit; snout has five marginal pores, chin has four minute mental pores; jaw teeth villiform, arranged in one or two rows; preopercular margin nearly smooth; operculum has 2 strong spines on upper portion; gill rakers on first arch long and slender, 9-11 on upper limb and 19-22 on lower limb; head length 31%-35% SL, snout length 6%-7% SL, eye diameter 7%-8% SL, upper jaw length 15%-16% SL, pectoral fin length 29%-31% SL, body depth 36%-39% SL; pectoral fin has 16 rays; dorsal fin deeply notched, 9 or 10 spines in anterior section and 1 spine and 26 to 29 rays in posterior section; anal fin has 2 spines, second spine long and stout, and 6 or 7 rays; body and most of head covered with ctenoid scales; basal half of rayed section of dorsal fin and anal fin scaled; gas bladder simple and carrot shaped, with short anterior appendages.
Silvery, darker dorsally than ventrally, with a brown spot at pectoral fin base; pelvic and anal fins yellow.
Distribution
Western Atlantic from southern Gulf of Mexico, the Antilles, and the coast of Costa Rica to southeastern Brazil.
Unconfirmed record from the western coast of Campeche, at Celestún, in the Gulf of Mexico.
Habitat Associations
Near shore to 60 m, associated with mud and sandy mud bottoms.
Juveniles occur in estuaries.
Biology
Food consists of small shrimps.
Maximum known size is 310 mm TL.
Inhabits coastal waters, usually found over mud and sandy mud bottoms (Ref. 3702). Also in estuaries (Ref. 3702). Important food fish.
Reproductive mode: dioecism; fertilization: external; nonguarders (open water/substratum egg scatterers); parental care: none.
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC), assessed 2019-10-09. Resilience: High (K=0.55;).
Commercial or Environmental Importance
Fisheries: commercial.
References
Chao 1978
Chao 2002
Uyeno and Sato 1983a
Cervigón 1993b
Smith 1997
Vega-Cendejas et al. 1997
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.
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.
Cervigón, F. (1993) Los peces marinos de Venezuela. Volume 2. Fundación Científica Los Roques, Caracas,Venezuela. 497 p.
Uyeno, T., K. Matsuura and E. Fujii (eds.) (1983) Fishes trawled off Suriname and French Guiana. Japan Marine Fishery Resource Research Center, Tokyo, Japan. 519 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.
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.
Bessa, E., F.B. Santos, M. Pombo, M. Denadai, M. Fonseca and A. Turra (2014) Population ecology, life history and diet of the shorthead drum Larimus breviceps in a tropical bight in southeastern Brazil. Biological Association of the United Kingdom 94(3):615-622.
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