Lobotes surinamensis
Atlantic Tripletail
NS
GNR
Taxonomic Hierarchy
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned Fishes)
Perciformes (Perciformes, Also Called the Acanthopteri)
Lobotidae (Tripletails)
Lobotes
Lobotes surinamensis (Atlantic Tripletail)
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
Posterior lobes of dorsal and anal fins symmetrically expanded beyond caudal fin base; relatively large third anal fin spine; gill rakers on first arch 5-7 upper limb, 13-15 lower limb; head length 33%-39% SL; snout length about 8% SL; eye diameter 4%-7% SL; upper jaw length about 14% SL; body depth 48%-54% SL; pectoral fin rays 16; dorsal fin XI-XII, 15-16; anal fin III, 11-12; lateral line scales 43-48
Mottled tan to dark brown with darker-colored blotches below dorsal fin, above anal fin, and on fins except spinous section of dorsal fin; caudal fin with pale margin in juveniles
Distribution
Nova Scotia and Bermuda to northern Argentina, including the northern and southern Gulf of Mexico, the Bahamas, and the Antilles
Northern Gulf of Mexico, present but uncommon in shallow water and bays during summer months
Habitat Associations
Tropical to warm temperate waters worldwide; in the northern Gulf of Mexico, found in shallow water and bays during summer
Juveniles associated with flotsam in open water; adults often observed floating on their sides at the surface
Biology
Maximum known size 110 cm TL
Adult inhabits bays (Ref. 37816), muddy estuaries and lower reaches of large rivers (Ref. 48636). A sluggish offshore fish that often floats on its side near the surface in the company of floating objects. Occasionally drifts over reefs (Ref. 9710, 44187). Juvenile may occur in floating Sargassum and mimic a floating leaf (Ref. 37816). Feeds on benthic crustaceans and small fish (Ref. 30573, 44187). Marketed fresh, frozen, or salted.
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC), assessed 2012-08-23. Resilience: High (K>0.5; tm=1).
Commercial or Environmental Importance
Fisheries: commercial; gamefish; aquarium: commercial.
References
Hildebrand and Schroeder 1928
Baughman 1941
Baughman 1943
Longley and Hildebrand 1941
Böhlke and Chaplin 1968
Hastings et al. 1976
Hoese and Moore 1977
Hoese and Moore 1998
Robins and Ray 1986
Boschung 1992
Cervigón 1993a
Cervigón 1993b
Schaldach et al. 1997
Smith 1997
Smith-Vaniz et al. 1999
Carpenter 2002a
Randall, J.E., G.R. Allen and R.C. Steene (1990) Fishes of the Great Barrier Reef and Coral Sea. University of Hawaii Press, Honolulu, Hawaii. 506 p.
Heemstra, P.C. (1986) Lobotidae. p. 621-622. In M.M. Smith and P.C. Heemstra (eds.) Smiths' sea fishes. Springer-Verlag, Berlin.
Tortonese, E. (1990) Lobotidae. p. 780. In J.C. Quero, J.C. Hureau, C. Karrer, A. Post and L. Saldanha (eds.) Check-list of the fishes of the eastern tropical Atlantic (CLOFETA). JNICT, Lisbon; SEI, Paris; and UNESCO, Paris. Vol. 2.
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.
Lieske, E. and R. Myers (1994) Collins Pocket Guide. Coral reef fishes. Indo-Pacific & Caribbean including the Red Sea. Haper Collins Publishers, 400 p.
Smith, C.L. (1997) National Audubon Society field guide to tropical marine fishes of the Caribbean, the Gulf of Mexico, Florida, the Bahamas, and Bermuda. Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., New York. 720 p.
Franks, J.S., K.E. VanderKooy and N.M. Garber (2003) Diet of tripletail, Lobotes surinamensis, from Mississippi coastal waters. Gulf Caribb. Res. 15:27-32.
Fricke, R., M. Kulbicki and L. Wantiez (2011) Checklist of the fishes of New Caledonia, and their distribution in the Southwest Pacific Ocean (Pisces). Stuttgarter Beiträge zur Naturkunde A, Neue Serie 4:341-463.
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