Micropogonias furnieri
Whitemouth Croaker
Collection Details
Specimens
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Records
Taxonomic Hierarchy
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned Fishes)
Perciformes (Perciformes, Also Called the Acanthopteri)
Sciaenidae (Drums and Croakers)
Micropogonias
Micropogonias furnieri (Whitemouth Croaker)
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
Moderately elongate, with a nearly horizontal mouth, three or four pairs of minute chin barbels. Dorsal profile of head is slightly elevated. Posterior naris is oval shaped and larger than anterior naris. Mouth is subterminal. Maxilla extends to about middle of eye. Snout has five marginal and five rostral pores. Chin has five mental pores. Jaw teeth are villiform and arranged in broad bands, with outer row in upper jaw slightly enlarged. Preopercular margin is serrated, serrations increase in size ventrally, and 2 or 3 strong spines are located at angle. Gill rakers on first arch are short and slender and number 21 to 25, with 7 to 9 on upper limb and 12 to 15 on lower limb. Measurements are expressed as percent of SL: head length 32%–34%, snout length 10%–11%, eye diameter 6%–8%, interorbital width 7%–8%, upper jaw length 10%–11%, length of longest dorsal fin spine 19%–22%, pectoral fin length 24%–27%, body depth 26%–29%. Pectoral fin has 17 to 19 rays. Dorsal fin is deeply notched and has 10 spines in anterior section and 1 spine and 26 to 30 rays in posterior section. Anal fin has 2 spines and 7 to 9 rays. Posterior margin of caudal fin is double emarginate in adults. Body and most of head are covered with ctenoid scales. Scale rows between origin of dorsal fin and lateral line number six or seven. Vertebrae number 25: 10 precaudal and 15 caudal. Gas bladder is carrot shaped, with a pair of tubelike diverticula originating laterally on posterior half of main chamber and extending to septum transversum.
Color is silvery, with rows of dark spots on side above and slightly below the lateral line forming stripes and a dark spot on operculum. Spinous section of dorsal fin is black edged, and other fins are pale to yellowish.
Distribution
Western Atlantic from Costa Rica to Argentina, including the Antilles
Reported from Tuxpan, Veracruz, and Celestún, Yucatán, in the Gulf of Mexico, but some investigators attribute these records to M. undulatus
Habitat Associations
Coastal waters to 80 m, associated with sandy and muddy bottoms along the coast and in estuaries
Sandy and muddy bottoms along the coast and in estuaries
Biology
Maximum known size is about 900 mm TL
Found over muddy and sandy bottoms in coastal waters and in estuaries where the nursery and feeding grounds are located. Adults form schools. Feeding habits vary with ontogenic development and season; juveniles feed on benthic migratory crustaceans and sessile boring mollusks while adults are benthos-feeders and occasionally capture fish (Ref. 27). Undergoes seasonal migration. An important food fish which is usually marketed fresh and salted.
Reproductive mode: dioecism; fertilization: external; nonguarders (open water/substratum egg scatterers); parental care: none.
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC), assessed 2019-07-30. Resilience: Medium (K=0.12-0.18; tmax=7).
Commercial or Environmental Importance
Fisheries: highly commercial.
References
Hildebrand 1955
Chao 1978
Chao 2002
Uyeno and Sato 1983a
Smith 1997
Vega-Cendejas et al. 1997
Isaac, V.J. (1988) Synopsis of biological data on the whitemouth croaker, Micropogonias furnieri (Desmarest, 1823). FAO Fish. Synop. (150).
Breder, C.M. and D.E. Rosen (1966) Modes of reproduction in fishes. T.F.H. Publications, Neptune City, New Jersey. 941 p.
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.
Sierra, L.M., R. Claro and O.A. Popova (1994) Alimentacion y relaciones tróficas. p. 263-284. In Rodolfo Claro (ed.) Ecología de los Peces Marinos de Cuba. Instituto de Oceanología Academia de Ciencias de Cuba and Centro de Investigaciones de Quintana Roo, Mexico.
Nakamura, I., T. Inada, M. Takeda and H. Hatanaka (1986) Important fishes trawled off Patagonia. Japan Marine Fishery Resource Research Center, Tokyo. 369 p.
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