Oligoplites saurus
Leatherjack
NS
G5
Collection Details
Specimens
Photos
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Records
Taxonomic Hierarchy
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned Fishes)
Perciformes (Perciformes, Also Called the Acanthopteri)
Carangidae (Jacks)
Oligoplites
Oligoplites saurus (Leatherjack)
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 and greatly compressed body, two slightly separated dorsal fins, needlelike scales. Dorsal profile of head slightly concave over eye, snout long and acutely pointed. Maxilla extends to posterior margin of eye. Jaw teeth small, in two rows. Preopercular margin smooth. Gill rakers on first arch lathlike, 5-8 on upper limb and 13-15 on lower limb. Pectoral fin relatively short, 15-17 rays. First dorsal fin has 4-6 short spines. Second dorsal fin has 1 spine and 19-21 rays. Anal fin has 2 free spines followed by 1 spine and 19-22 rays. Last 11-15 rays of second dorsal fin and anal fin form semidetached finlets. Scales needlelike (aricular) and partially embedded. Vertebrae number 26: 10 precaudal and 16 caudal.
Bluish dorsally and silver to white laterally and ventrally. Dorsal fin spines dusky, membrane transparent.
Distribution
Western Atlantic from Massachusetts to southern Brazil or Uruguay, including the northern and southern Gulf of Mexico and the Greater and Lesser Antilles.
Northern Gulf of Mexico
Habitat Associations
Sandy beaches, bays, and inlets, often in turbid water; also occurs in freshwater; depth range not specified
Associated with sandy beaches
Biology
Crustaceans and ray-finned fishes; juveniles clean other fishes of ectoparasites with incisor-like outer teeth
Maximum known size is 297 mm FL
Adults are found inshore, usually along sandy beaches, in bays and inlets. They enter estuaries and fresh water, preferring turbid water. They occur in schools, usually large and fast moving, often leaping out of the water. Juveniles may float at the surface with tail bent and head down. Adults feed on fishes and crustaceans. The dorsal and anal spines are connected to venomous glands that can inflict painful wounds (Ref. 9283). Venom glands were not visible however, and cannot be confirmed in the specimen according to Smith and Wheeler, 2006 (Ref. 57406). Current information for this species as being dangerous need verification. Juveniles have incisor-like outer teeth and serve as cleaners for other fish; as fish grow, their teeth become conical and their diet changes (Ref. 26938). Marketed fresh and salted or dried but the flesh is not highly esteemed (Ref. 9283).
Reproductive mode: dioecism; fertilization: external; nonguarders (open water/substratum egg scatterers); parental care: none.
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC), assessed 2018-09-07. Resilience: High (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
Commercial or Environmental Importance
Fisheries: minor commercial; gamefish.
References
Randall 1968a
Randall 1996
Robins and Ray 1986
Boschung 1992
Cervigón 1993b
Schaldach et al. 1997
Smith 1997
Castro-Aguirre et al. 1999
Smith-Vaniz 2002c
Randall, J.E. (1967) Food habits of reef fishes of the West Indies. Stud. Trop. Oceanogr. Miami 5:665-847.
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.
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-Vaniz, W.F. (1995) Carangidae. Jureles, pámpanos, cojinúas, zapateros, cocineros, casabes, macarelas, chicharros, jorobados, medregales, pez pilota. p. 940-986. In W. Fischer, F. Krupp, W. Schneider, C. Sommer, K.E. Carpenter and V. Niem (eds.) Guia FAO para Identification de Especies para lo Fines de la Pesca. Pacifico Centro-Oriental. 3 Vols. FAO, Rome.
Duque-Nivia, G., A. Acero, A. Santos-Martinez and E. Rubio (1996) Food habits of the species of the genus Oligoplites (Carangidae) from the Cienaga Grande de Santa Marta-Colombian Caribbean. Cybium 20(3):251-260. DOI: 10.26028/cybium/1996-203-002
Randall, J.E. (1996) Caribbean reef fishes. Third Edition - revised and enlarged. T.F.H. Publications, Inc. Ltd., Hong Kong. 3nd ed. 368 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.
Jiménez Prado, P. and P. Béarez (2004) Peces Marinos del Ecuador continental. Tomo 2: Guía de Especies / Marine fishes of continental Ecuador. Volume 2: Species Guide. SIMBIOE/NAZCA/IFEA.
Gross, M.R. and R. Shine (1981) Parental care and mode of fertilization in ectothermic vertebrates. Evolution 35(4):775-793.
Love, M.S., C.W. Mecklenburg, T.A. Mecklenburg and L.K. Thorsteinson (2005) Resource inventory of marine and estuarine fishes of the West Coast and Alaska: A checklist of North Pacific and Arctic Ocean species from Baja California to the Alaska-Yukon border. U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey, Biological Resources Division, Seattle, Washington, 98104.
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