Trachurus lathami
Rough Scad
Collection Details
Specimens
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Records
Taxonomic Hierarchy
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned Fishes)
Perciformes (Perciformes, Also Called the Acanthopteri)
Carangidae (Jacks)
Trachurus
Trachurus lathami (Rough Scad)
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 slightly compressed body; two distinctly separated dorsal fins; all scales of lateral line scutelike; dorsal and ventral profiles equally convex; snout long and acutely pointed; eye with well-developed adipose eyelid; maxilla extends beyond anterior margin of eye; jaw teeth minute, in a single row; gill rakers on first arch lathlike, 12-16 on upper limb and 33-41 on lower limb; shoulder girdle with furrow along upper margin, lacks papillae; 7 branchiostegal rays; pectoral fin falcate with 20-21 rays; first dorsal fin with 8 spines, second dorsal fin with 1 spine and 28-34 rays; anal fin with 2 free spines followed by 1 spine and 24-30 rays; last fin ray of second dorsal and anal fin connected by membrane but displaced posteriorly; scales moderately small, cycloid, covering body except behind pectoral fin; lateral line moderately arched anteriorly with 68-77 scutes; accessory lateral line on dorsolateral surface; caudal peduncle lacks keels; 24 vertebrae (10 precaudal, 14 caudal)
Light or dark bluish to bluish green dorsally, silvery to whitish on side and ventrally; area above eye blackish; small, oval black spot on operculum
Distribution
Western Atlantic from Gulf of Maine to northern Argentina, including northern and southern Gulf of Mexico
Gulf of Mexico
Habitat Associations
Continental shelves, 50-90 m
Biology
Small invertebrates
330 mm SL
Adults are benthopelagic over continental shelves (Ref. 5217). Rare in oceanic insular areas (Ref. 5217). Juveniles associate with the jellyfish Chrysaora lactea in Southwestern Atlantic. Preyed on by juvenile comb grouper (Mycteroperca acutirostris) when protection given by the jellyfish fails (Ref. 52493). Adults are found often in schools. They feed on small invertebrates. Marketed fresh locally and considered a good food fish (Ref. 9626). In southern Brazil, stocks are found in 147 m deep water (Ref. 47377).
Reproductive mode: dioecism; fertilization: external; nonguarders (open water/substratum egg scatterers); parental care: none.
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC), assessed 2012-08-21. Resilience: Medium (K=0.16; tm=2).
Commercial or Environmental Importance
Fisheries: commercial.
References
Berry and Cohen 1974
Hoese and Moore 1977
Hoese and Moore 1998
Castro-Aguirre and Márquez-Espinoza 1981
Robins and Ray 1986
Boschung 1992
Cervigón 1993a
Cervigón 1993b
Schaldach et al. 1997
Smith-Vaniz 2002c
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.
Scott, W.B. and M.G. Scott (1988) Atlantic fishes of Canada. Can. Bull. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 219:731 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.
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.
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.
Gross, M.R. and R. Shine (1981) Parental care and mode of fertilization in ectothermic vertebrates. Evolution 35(4):775-793.
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