Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Marine; brackish; demersal; depth range ? - 98 m (Ref. 89891). Subtropical; 43°N - 26°N, 98°W - 70°W
Western Atlantic: Massachusetts to Texas in the USA, except for southern Florida. Including Gulf of Mexico (Ref. 26938).
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ? range ? - ? cm
Max length : 25.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 7251); common length : 16.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 3702)
Dorsal spines (total): 11; Dorsal soft rays (total): 24 - 27; Anal spines: 2; Anal soft rays: 6 - 7. Colour greyish olive above, silvery white below. Back with 7 to 9 rather conspicuous dark vertical bars. Inside of opercle dark. Lower parts of pelvic fins, anal and caudal fins yellowish. A moderately small fish, body short and robust. Mouth large, strongly oblique, lower jaw projecting. Teeth very small and pointed, set in 1 or 2 rows along edges of jaws. Chin without barbels, but with 4 minute pores. Snout with 5 marginal pores and no rostral pores. Gas bladder simple, carrot-shaped, without anterior appendages. Sagitta (Large earstone) short but very thick (Ref 51721).
Occurs usually over mud and sandy mud bottoms in coastal waters to about 60 m depth, more rarely in estuaries. Feeds mainly on small shrimps.
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturities | Reproduction | Spawnings | Egg(s) | Fecundities | Larvae
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. (Ref. 7251)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435)
Threat to humans
Harmless
Human uses
Fisheries: of no interest; bait: usually
Tools
Special reports
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Internet sources
Estimates based on models
Preferred temperature (Ref.
123201): 14.1 - 24.7, mean 23.8 °C (based on 198 cells).
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref.
82804): PD
50 = 0.5156 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00851 (0.00413 - 0.01752), b=3.08 (2.91 - 3.25), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this (Sub)family-body shape (Ref.
93245).
Trophic level (Ref.
69278): 3.6 ±0.3 se; based on diet studies.
Generation time: 1.1 ( na - na) years. Estimated as median ln(3)/K based on 1
growth studies.
Resilience (Ref.
120179): High, minimum population doubling time less than 15 months (K=0.98).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref.
59153): Low vulnerability (16 of 100).
Nutrients (Ref.
124155): Calcium = 147 [78, 328] mg/100g; Iron = 1.55 [0.80, 2.88] mg/100g; Protein = 19.6 [18.5, 20.8] %; Omega3 = 0.407 [0.223, 0.693] g/100g; Selenium = 26.9 [13.5, 55.2] μg/100g; VitaminA = 15.6 [5.5, 58.4] μg/100g; Zinc = 0.981 [0.673, 1.458] mg/100g (wet weight);
