Menticirrhus americanus
Southern Kingfish
NS
GNR
Taxonomic Hierarchy
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned Fishes)
Perciformes (Perciformes, Also Called the Acanthopteri)
Sciaenidae (Drums and Croakers)
Menticirrhus
Menticirrhus americanus (Southern Kingfish)
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; small, nearly horizontal mouth; straight ventral profile; 7-8 dusky bars on body; dorsal profile of head slightly convex; rostral fold on lower margin of snout deeply notched; posterior naris oval shaped and larger than anterior naris; mouth inferior; maxilla extends to about center of pupil; snout with 5 marginal and 3 rostral pores; chin with a single short, rigid barbel and 1 medial pore and 2 pairs of mental pores; jaw teeth villiform, in broad bands, with outer row of upper jaw slightly enlarged; preopercular margin serrated; gill rakers on first arch knoblike, about 10, largely disappearing with growth; head length 23%-30% SL, snout length 8%-9% SL, eye diameter 4%-6% SL, upper jaw length 8%-9% SL, longest dorsal fin spine 16%-24% SL, pectoral fin length 22%-26% SL, body depth 21%-26% SL; pectoral fin with 21-24 rays; dorsal fin deeply notched, with 10-11 spines in anterior section and 1 spine and 22-26 rays in posterior section; anal fin with 1 spine and 6-8 rays; caudal fin with concave upper half and convex lower half; body and most of head covered with ctenoid scales; scales on chest same size as those on remainder of body; gas bladder vestigial
Grayish brown on dorsal half and silvery gray on lower half of body, with 7-8 obscure, dusky diagonal bands on flank; second and third bars form a V below nape and spinous section of dorsal fin; pectoral, pelvic, and anal fins dusky; lining of gill cavity dusky
Distribution
Western Atlantic from New York to Argentina, including the northern and southern Gulf of Mexico and the Greater Antilles
Habitat Associations
Coastal waters, from surf zone to estuaries, associated with sandy, muddy bottoms and hard mud bottoms
Sandy, muddy bottoms and hard mud bottoms
Biology
Polychaetes and benthic crustaceans
Maximum known size is 600 mm TL
Matures at 150-220 mm TL at the end of, or shortly after, the first year; spawning occurs between February and November, most intensely from February to April and from August to November
Inhabits coastal waters, usually over sandy-mud to hard sand bottoms. Common along beaches. Juveniles occur usually in water of lower salinity.
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC), assessed 2023-07-11. Resilience: Medium (tm=2; tmax=4; K= 0.2-1.1; Fec=28,691 (batch fecundity)).
Commercial or Environmental Importance
Fisheries: commercial; gamefish.
References
Hoese and Moore 1977
Chao 1978
Johnson 1978
Uyeno and Sato 1983a
Robins and Ray 1986
Harding and Chittenden 1987
Boschung 1992
Vega-Cendejas et al. 1997
Castro-Aguirre et al. 1999
Hoese and Moore 1998
Chao 2002
Jenyns, L. (1842) Fish. In C. Darwin (ed.) The zoology of the voyage of H.M.S. Beagle, under the command of Captain Fitzroy, R.N., during the years 1832-1836. Smith, Elder & Co., London (in 4 parts): p. 1-32 (Jan. 1840); 33-64 (Jun. 1840); 65-96 (Apr. 1841); 97-172 (Apr. 1842).
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. (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.
Bowman, R.E., C.E. Stillwell, W.L. Michaels and M.D. Grosslein (2000) Food of northwest Atlantic fishes and two common species of squid. NOAA Tech. Memo. NMFS-NE 155, 138 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.
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