Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Marine; demersal; depth range ? - 35 m (Ref. 26912). Subtropical; 28°N - 4°N, 98°W - 51°W
Western Atlantic: eastern Florida (USA), throughout the Antilles and along the Caribbean coast from the Bay of Campeche (Mexico) to Guianas.
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 26.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 3702); common length : 22.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 3702)
Dorsal spines (total): 11; Dorsal soft rays (total): 21 - 24; Anal spines: 2; Anal soft rays: 7 - 8. Colour grey or greyish blue on back, silvery below. Sides with faint streaks, oblique above and longitudinal below lateral line. Fins pale, yellowish, dusted with dark spots. A faint dark spot at pectoral-fin origin. Mouth moderate in size, slightly oblique, terminal. Preopercular margin thin, nearly smooth. Anal fin second spine moderately strong, less than 2/3 the length of first soft ray. Gas bladder with 2 chambers; anterior one yoke-shaped, without appendages on posterior margin, posterior one carrot-shaped. Lapillus (small earstone) enlarged, more than half the size of sagitta (Ref 51721).
Common over muddy and sandy bottoms in inshore waters. Juveniles are also found in rocky areas. Feeds mainly on shrimps. Seldom marketed as a food fish; mostly used as bait (Ref. 3702).
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: minor commercial; bait: usually
Tools
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Internet sources
Estimates based on models
Preferred temperature (Ref.
123201): 27 - 28.3, mean 27.6 °C (based on 377 cells).
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref.
82804): PD
50 = 0.6250 [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 ±0.59 se; based on food items.
Resilience (Ref.
120179): High, minimum population doubling time less than 15 months (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref.
59153): Low vulnerability (16 of 100).