Menticirrhus littoralis
Gulf Kingfish
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GNR
Collection Details
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Taxonomic Hierarchy
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned Fishes)
Perciformes (Perciformes, Also Called the Acanthopteri)
Sciaenidae (Drums and Croakers)
Menticirrhus
Menticirrhus littoralis (Gulf 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; nearly straight ventral profile; relatively small scales on chest; 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 has five marginal and three rostral pores; chin has a single short, rigid barbel and one medial pore and two pairs of mental pores; jaw teeth villiform and arranged in broad bands, with those in outer row of upper jaw slightly enlarged; preopercular margin serrated; gill rakers on first arch knoblike and number 3 to 12; head length 26%–31% SL, snout length 9%–11% SL, eye diameter 4%–6% SL, upper jaw length 9%–10% SL, length of longest dorsal fin spine 18%–21% SL, pectoral fin length 18%–21% SL, body depth 22%–24% SL; pectoral fin has 18 to 21 rays; dorsal fin deeply notched with 10 or 11 spines in anterior section and 1 spine and 19 to 26 rays in posterior section; anal fin has 1 spine and 6 to 8 rays; posterior margin of caudal fin concave along upper half and convex along lower half; body and most of head covered with ctenoid scales, with those on chest relatively small; gas bladder vestigial.
Silvery, with tip of dorsal fin often dusky and tip of caudal fin blackish; lining of gill cavity dusky.
Distribution
Western Atlantic from Virginia to Brazil, including the northern and southern Gulf of Mexico.
Habitat Associations
Coastal waters; associated with sandy and muddy bottoms; most abundant in the surf zone; occasionally in estuaries.
Sandy and muddy bottoms; rare in water less saline than 21‰.
Biology
Polychaetes and benthic crustaceans.
Maximum known size is 600 mm TL.
Occurs usually in coastal waters over sandy and muddy bottoms; juveniles are abundant in the surf zone. Sometimes enters estuaries. Feeds mainly on worms and crustaceans. Excellent food fish (Ref. 26938).
Reproductive mode: dioecism; fertilization: external; nonguarders (open water/substratum egg scatterers); parental care: none.
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC), assessed 2023-07-11. Resilience: Medium (Assuming tm <4).
Commercial or Environmental Importance
Fisheries: minor commercial; gamefish.
References
Hoese and Moore 1977
Hoese and Moore 1998
Chao 1978
Chao 2002
Johnson 1978
Robins and Ray 1986
Boschung 1992
Vega-Cendejas et al. 1997
Castro-Aguirre et al. 1999
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.
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.
IGFA (2001) Database of IGFA angling records until 2001. IGFA, Fort Lauderdale, USA.
Gómez-Canchong, P., L. Manjarrés M., L.O. Duarte and J. Altamar (2004) Atlas pesquero del area norte del Mar Caribe de Colombia. Universidad del Magadalena, Santa Marta. 230 p.
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.
Comments On Menticirrhus littoralis