Rachycentron canadum
Taxonomic Hierarchy
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned Fishes)
Perciformes (Perciformes, Also Called the Acanthopteri)
Rachycentridae (Cobias)
Rachycentron
Rachycentron canadum (Cobia)
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 sub-cylindrical in cross section, with a broad, depressed head and first dorsal fin consisting of free spines and membranes. Snout is long and acute. Nostril is paired, and nares are close set, with a flap on posterior margin of anterior naris and on anterior margin of posterior naris. Mouth is terminal and nearly horizontal, with upper jaw extending to near anterior margin of orbit and lower jaw projecting beyond upper. Jaw teeth are villiform and arranged in bands. Vomer, palatine, and tongue have patches or bands of villiform teeth. Pre-opercular margin is membranous, and opercular margin lacks spine. Four gill arches are present, with slit behind fourth arch, and gill membranes are separate and free of isthmus. Gill rakers on first arch are lathlike and number five on upper limb and eight on lower limb. Measurements are expressed as percent of SL: head length 23%–27%, snout length 8%–11%, eye diameter 3%– 4%, upper jaw 10%–12%, pectoral fin length 20%–22%, pelvic fin length 13%–14%, body depth 17%–18%. Pectoral fin is pointed and has 21 or 22 rays. First dorsal fin consists of seven to nine short spines, and second dorsal fin has one spine and 27 to 33 rays. Anal fin is similar in shape to second dorsal fin and has two short spines and 23 to 27 rays. Caudal fin is truncate in juveniles and deeply emarginate in adults, with upper lobe longer than lower. Scales are small and embedded in thick skin. Lateral line is wavy anteriorly and extends to caudal fin base. Gas bladder is absent. Vertebrae number 25: 12 precaudal and 13 caudal.
Color is dark brown on back and side and yellowish ventrally, with two silvery bands on side.
Distribution
In the western Atlantic it occurs from Massachusetts and Bermuda to Argentina, including the entire Gulf of Mexico.
Habitat Associations
Pelagic, associated with coral reefs, rocky substrates, and estuaries. Depth range not specified.
Individuals are attracted to shadows produced by large, near-surface objects such as buoys and flotsam.
Biology
Food consists of crabs, squids, elasmobranchs, and ray-finned fishes.
Maximum known size is 200 cm TL. Maximum known age is eight years.
Adults occur in a variety of habitats, over mud, sand and gravel bottoms; over coral reefs, off rocky shores (Ref. 10948) and in mangrove sloughs; inshore around pilings and buoys, and offshore around drifting and stationary objects; occasionally in estuaries (Ref. 9739). Form small groups and may pursue small pelagic inshore (Ref. 48635). Feed on crustaceans (inlcuding crabs), small fishes, and squids (Ref. 5213, 10948, 13442, 132435). Form spawning aggregations during the warm months in the western Atlantic; eggs and larvae planktonic (Ref. 12459). Caught in small quantities due to its solitary behavior (Ref. 9626). Caught mainly with handlines, and by trolling pelagically offshore over the continental shelf (Ref. 10948). Good food fish; marketed fresh (Ref. 5284), smoked, and frozen (Ref. 9987). Also caught for sport (Ref. 26938).
Reproductive mode: dioecism; fertilization: external; nonguarders (open water/substratum egg scatterers); parental care: none. Form spawning aggregations during the warm months in the western Atlantic; eggs and larvae planktonic (Ref. 12459).
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC), assessed 2012-08-21. Resilience: Medium (K=0.09-0.22; tm=2-3; tmax=15).
Commercial or Environmental Importance
Fisheries: minor commercial; gamefish; aquaculture: commercial.
References
Randall 1968a
Randall 1996
Dawson 1971
Hoese and Moore 1977
Hoese and Moore 1998
Robins and Ray 1986
Smith 1986c
Shaffer and Nakamura 1989
Boschung 1992
Ditty and Shaw 1992
Smith 1995
Tominaga et al. 1996
Schaldach et al. 1997
Smith 1997
Castro-Aguirre et al. 1999
Smith-Vaniz et al. 1999
Collette 2001c
Collette 2002e
Collette, B.B. (1984) Rachycentridae. In W. Fischer and G. Bianchi (eds.) FAO species identification sheets for fishery purposes. Western Indian Ocean (Fishing Area 51), Volume 3. FAO, Rome.
Salini, J.P., S.J.M. Blaber and D.T`. Brewer (1994) Diets of trawled predatory fish of the Gulf of Carpentaria, Australia, with particular reference to predation on prawns. Aust. J. Mar. Freshwat. Res. 45(3):397-411.
Shaffer, R.V. and E.L. Nakamura (1989) Synopsis of biological data on the cobia Rachycentron canadum (Pisces: Rachycentridae). NOAA Tech. Rep. NMFS 82, FAO Fisheries Synopsis 153.
Quéro, J.-C. (1990) Rachycentridae. p. 723-724. In J. C. Quéro, 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.
Collette, B.B. (1999) Rachycentridae. Cobia. p. 2655. In K.E. Carpenter and V.H. Niem (eds.) FAO species identification guide for fishery purposes. The living marine resources of the Western Central Pacific. Volume 4. Bony fishes part 2 (Mugilidae to Carangidae). FAO, Rome.
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.
Brown-Peterson, N.J., R.M. Overstreet, J.M. Lotz, J.S. Franks and K.M. Burns (2001) Reproductive biology of cobia, Rachycentron canadum, from coastal waters of the southern United States. Fish. Bull. 99:15-28.
Allen, G.R. and M.V. Erdmann (2012) Reef fishes of the East Indies. Perth, Australia: Universitiy of Hawai'i Press, Volumes I-III. Tropical Reef Research.
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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