Stellifer lanceolatus
Star Drum
NS
GNR
Collection Details
Specimens
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Taxonomic Hierarchy
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned Fishes)
Perciformes (Perciformes, Also Called the Acanthopteri)
Sciaenidae (Drums and Croakers)
Stellifer
Stellifer lanceolatus (Star Drum)
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
Oblong body shape, broad head, slightly concave at nape, cavernous canals. Posterior naris oval shaped and slightly larger than anterior naris. Mouth relatively large, oblique, and subterminal to terminal. Maxilla extends to about posterior margin of eye. Snout has three rostral and five marginal pores, and chin has six minute mental pores. Jaw teeth villiform and arranged in bands, with outer row in upper jaw slightly enlarged. Preopercular margin has 4 to 6 stout spines. Gill rakers on first arch long and slender, numbering 32 to 36. Measurements (% SL): head length 30%–32%, snout length 8%–9%, eye diameter 5%–6%, interorbital width 10%–11%, upper jaw length 13%–15%, pectoral fin length 29%–31%, length of longest dorsal fin spine 15%–18%, body depth 28%–34%. Pectoral fin has 18 to 20 rays. Dorsal fin deeply notched with 11 or 12 spines in anterior section and 1 spine and 20 to 25 rays in posterior section. Anal fin has 2 spines and 8 or 9 rays. Caudal fin lanceolate. Ctenoid scales on body, cycloid scales on head. Basal parts of rayed sections of dorsal and anal fins scaled. Gas bladder consists of yoke-shaped anterior chamber and carrot-shaped posterior chamber, with small diverticula on posterolateral aspect of anterior chamber.
Silvery olive to brown dorsally and pale ventrally. Fins pale to dusky, and spinous section of dorsal fin dark.
Distribution
Western Atlantic from Virginia to the Gulf of Mexico
Common in the western Gulf, present but uncommon off Alabama and the Florida Panhandle in the eastern Gulf or off Veracruz in the southwestern Gulf, and rare or absent along the Florida peninsula
Habitat Associations
Between the shoreline and 20 m depth
Hard sandy mud bottoms, common in estuaries
Biology
Crustaceans
200 mm TL
Occurs usually over hard sandy mud bottoms in coastal waters to about 20 m depth. Also common in river estuaries. Feeds mainly on small crustaceans. Not marketed for human consumption.
Reproductive mode: dioecism; fertilization: external; nonguarders (open water/substratum egg scatterers); parental care: none.
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC), assessed 2020-01-27. Resilience: High (tm=1).
Commercial or Environmental Importance
Fisheries: of no interest.
References
Hoese and Moore 1977
Hoese and Moore 1998
Chao 1978
Chao 2002
Johnson 1978
Robins and Ray 1986
Boschung 1992
Smith 1997
Castro-Aguirre et al. 1999
Breder, C.M. and D.E. Rosen (1966) Modes of reproduction in fishes. T.F.H. Publications, Neptune City, New Jersey. 941 p.
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.
Kells, V. and K. Carpenter (2011) A field guide to coastal fishes from Maine to Texas. The Johnson Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, Maryland.
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