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Synodus synodus

Red Lizardfish
Collection Details

Specimens

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Taxonomic Hierarchy

Actinopterygii (Ray-finned Fishes) Aulopiformes Synodontidae (Lizardfishes) Synodus Synodus synodus (Red Lizardfish)

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. It may contain errors in spelling, punctuation, or formatting. When citing, please reference the original source rather than this page. Learn more about our species accounts.

Characters

Moderately elongate, moderately slender, and cylindrical, with a moderately long dorsal fin and a large oblique mouth. Snout is conical and longer than eye diameter. Body depth is 11.6% to 16.1%, head length is 27.2% to 30.6%, and snout length is 5.5% to 7.9% of SL. Upper jaw extends beyond lower jaw, and lower jaw has fleshy tip. Teeth in jaw are compressed, pointed, and in narrow band, with inner teeth largest and depressible. Palatine has single row of teeth. Tongue has depressible teeth. Branchiostegal rays number 12 to 18. Pectoral fin has 11 or 12 rays, and when depressed, tips of rays extend beyond pelvic fin base. Dorsal fin has 12 to 14 rays, and when depressed, tips of anterior rays do not extend to or beyond tips of any succeeding rays. Pelvic fin has 8 rays, and medial rays are longest. Anal fin has 8 to 10 rays, and base is shorter than dorsal fin base. Dorsal adipose fin is present. Lateral line scales number 54 to 59 and are not enlarged but are keeled on caudal peduncle. Enlarged axillary scales occur on bases of pectoral and pelvic fins.
Light gray on head and trunk above lateral line, with small dark spot near tip of snout, blotches on sides of jaws, dark patch on shoulder girdle, and broad brown saddles at origin of dorsal fin, posterior to dorsal fin, anterior to adipose fin, and between adipose fin and caudal fin. Less distinct bands are found between saddles, and broad band is located at nape. Belly and lower side are white. Postlarvae have 12 or 13 pairs of small peritoneal sections.

Distribution

Gulf of Mexico, predominantly along the west coast of Florida and in eastern Campeche Bay

Habitat Associations

Tropical to warm temperate waters of the Atlantic, from near shore to 90 m, frequently associated with rocky and reef areas in shallow water
Rocky and reef areas

Biology

Maximum known size is 300 mm SL
Primarily found in shallow inshore waters (Ref. 4964). Rests on hard surfaces rather than on sand (Ref. 9710). Also occurs in reef areas, but ventures into open shelf water as deep as 90 m (Ref. 7251). Caught with several types of artisanal gear. Reportedly good to eat, but not utilized widely (Ref. 4964).
Reproductive mode: dioecism; fertilization: external; nonguarders (open water/substratum egg scatterers); parental care: none.
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC), assessed 2013-01-29. Resilience: Medium (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).

Commercial or Environmental Importance

Fisheries: commercial.

References

Longley and Hildebrand 1941
Anderson et al. 1966
Bohlke and Chaplin 1968
C. R. Robins et al. 1986
Sulak 1986e
Boschung 1992
Randall, J.E. (1967) Food habits of reef fishes of the West Indies. Stud. Trop. Oceanogr. Miami 5:665-847.
Thresher, R.E. (1984) Reproduction in reef fishes. T.F.H. Publications, Inc. Ltd., Neptune City, New Jersey. 399 p.
Sulak, K.J. (1990) Synodontidae. p. 365-370. In J.C. Quero, 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. 1.
Scott, W.B. and M.G. Scott (1988) Atlantic fishes of Canada. Can. Bull. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 219:731 p.
Lieske, E. and R. Myers (1994) Collins Pocket Guide. Coral reef fishes. Indo-Pacific & Caribbean including the Red Sea. Haper Collins Publishers, 400 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.
Pereira, J.N., A. Simas, A. Rosa, A. Aranha, S. Lino, E. Constantino, V. Monteiro, O. Tariche and G. Menezes (2012) Weight-length relationships for 27 demersal fish species caught off the Cape Verde archipelago (eastern North Atlantic). J. Appl. Ichthyol. 28:156-159. DOI: 10.1111/j.1439-0426.2011.01915.x

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