Cynoscion

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Cynoscion
Cynoscion arenarius.jpg
Cynoscion arenarius
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Acanthuriformes
Family: Sciaenidae
Genus: Cynoscion
Gill, 1861
Type species
Johnius regalis
Bloch & Schneider, 1801 [1]
Synonyms [1]

Cynoscion is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the family, Sciaenidae, the drums and croakers. These fishes are found off the coasts of North and South America in the western Atlantic and eastern Pacific Oceans. Many fishes in this genus have been given the common name weakfish.

Contents

Taxonomy

Cynoscion was first proposed as a monospecific genus in 1861 by the American biologist Theodore Gill with Johnnius regalis, a species originally described in 1801 from New York by Marcis Elieser Bloch and Johann G. T. Schneider, designated as its type species. [1] [2] This genus has been placed in the subfamily Cynoscioninae by some workers, [3] but the 5th edition of Fishes of the World does not recognise subfamilies within the Sciaenidae which it places in the order Acanthuriformes. [4]

Etymology

Cynoscion is a combination of cyno, meaning "dog", a reference to the pair of canine-like teeth in the upper jaw, with scion, the modern Greek name of Umbrina cirrosa , which Gill preferred over sciaena because he did not like the sound of Cynosciaena. [5] The common name, weakfish, is a reference to the easily torn membrane in the mouth of C. regalis. [6]

Species

The genus consists of 25 species: [7]

FishBase treats C. striatus as a valid species [7] but the Catalog of Fishes states that this is a nomen oblitum and is in the synonymy of C. guatucupa. [2]

Characteristics

Cynoscion weakfishes have an elongate, torpedo shapes body which is compressed to give it an oval cross-section. The head is low, with the crown being firm to the touch rather than spongy with moderately sized eyes and a large oblique mouth. There is a pair of large, pointed canine-like teeth in the front of the upper jaw. There are no barbels or pores on the chin. The preoperculum is smooth and not serrated and the top corner of gill slit is incised. The dorsal fin is long based and is deeply incised with between 7 and 9 thin spines and between 20 and 30 soft rays. The anal fin is supported by 2 small spines, less than half the length of the first anal fin ray, and 7 to 13 soft rays. They have large scales, ctenoid on the body and cycloid on the head. The lateral line reaches to the middle of the end of the caudal fin. [8] The largest species in the genus are C. albus which has a maximum published total length of 130 cm (51 in) and C. xanthulus at 129 cm (51 in) while the smallest is C. nannus reaching 27 cm (11 in). [7]

Distribution

Cynoscion weakfishes are found off the Americas in the eastern Pacific and western Atlantic Oceans being found in tropical and warm temperate waters. [8]

Related Research Articles

<i>Cynoscion regalis</i> Species of fish

Cynoscion regalis, the weakfish, squeteague, bastard trout, bastard weakfish, common weakfish, gray weakfish, chickwick, gray trout, gray sea trout, sand trout, silver weakfish or squit, is a marine ray-finned fish of the family Sciaenidae, the drums and croakers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sciaenidae</span> Family of fishes

Sciaenidae is a family of ray-finned fishes belonging to the order Acanthuriformes. They are commonly called drums or croakers in reference to the repetitive throbbing or drumming sounds they make. The family consists of about 293 to 298 species in about 66 or 67 genera.

<i>Cynoscion acoupa</i> Species of fish

Cynoscion acoupa, the acoupa weakfish, blacktail basher or grey snapper, is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Sciaenidae, the drums and croakers. This fish is found in the western Atlantic.

<i>Micropogonias</i> Genus of fishes

Micropogonias is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Sciaenidae, the drums and croakers. These fishes are found in the eastern Pacific and western Atlantic Oceans.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Atlantic croaker</span> Species of fish

The Atlantic croaker is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Sciaenidae and is closely related to the black drum, the silver perch, the spot croaker, the red drum, the spotted seatrout, and the weakfish. It is commonly found in sounds and estuaries from Massachusetts to the Gulf of Mexico.

<i>Cilus</i> Species of fish

Cilus, is a monospecific genus of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Sciaenidae, the croakers and drums. Its only species is Cilus gilberti, the corvina or corvina drum, which is found mostly tropical to temperate coastal waters of the southeastern Pacific along Central and South America. The corvina is highly prized in South America as a food fish.

<i>Cynoscion arenarius</i> Species of fish

Cynoscion arenarius, sand seatrout, sand weakfish or white trout, is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Sciaenidae, the drums and croakers. It is found in the western Atlantic Ocean. It is closely related to the common weakfish and may be a subspecies of C. regalis.

<i>Nebris</i> Genus of fishes

Nebris is a small genus of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Sciaenidae, the drums and croakers. There are two species in the genus, one in the Western Atlantic Ocean and one in the Eastern Pacific Ocean.

<i>Umbrina</i> Genus of fishes

Umbrina is a genus of fish from the croaker family Sciaenidae. The genus contains 17 species occurring in tropical and warm temperate waters of the Atlantic, the Mediterranean, the Western Indian Ocean and the eastern Pacific.

<i>Atractoscion</i> Genus of fishes

Atractoscion is a genus of marine ray-finned fished belonging to the family Sciaenidae, the drums and croakers. The fishes in this genus are found in the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans.

<i>Pareques</i> Genus of fishes

Pareques is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Sciaenidae, the drums and croakers. These fishes are found in the western Atlantic Ocean and eastern Pacific Ocean.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Silver seatrout</span> Fish species

The silver seatrout, also known as white trout, sugar trout, and silver weakfish, is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Sciaenidae, the drums and croakers. This fish is found in the Western Atlantic Ocean.

<i>Odontoscion dentex</i> Species of fish

Odontoscion dentex, the reef croaker or brown large-eyed croaker, is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Sciaenidae, the drums and croakers. It is found in coral and rocky reefs of the tropical Western Atlantic, living as solitary individuals or in small groups at a depth of 1 to 30 m. This species feeds on small fish, shrimp, and larvae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Geelbeck croaker</span> Species of fish

The geelbeck croaker, also known as the African weakfish or Cape salmon, is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Sciaenidae, the drums and croakers. This species is found in the southwestern Indian Ocean off southeastern Africa.

<i>Isopisthus</i> Genus of fishes

Isopisthus is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Sciaenidae, the drums and croakers. These fishes are found in the western Atlantic and eastern Pacific Oceans.

<i>Johnius dussumieri</i> Species of fish

Johnius dussumieri, the sin croaker, Dussumier's croaker, Dussumier's silver jewfish, sharptooth hammer croaker or whiskered croaker, is a marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Sciaenidae, the drums and croakers. This fish is found in the Indian Ocean.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kathala croaker</span> Species of fish

The kathala croaker is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Sciaenidae, the drums and croakers. This species is found in the Indian Ocean off South Asia. It is the only species in the monospecific genus Kathala.

<i>Larimus</i>

Larimus is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Sciaenidae, the croakers and drums. These fishes are found in the Western Atlantic and Eastern Pacific Oceans.

<i>Macrodon</i>

Macrodon is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Sciaenidae, the drums and croakers. These fishes are found in the eastern Pacific and western Atlantic Oceans.

<i>Odontoscion</i>

Odontoscion is a genus of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Sciaenidae, the croakers and drums. These fishes are found in the Western Atlantic and Eastern Pacific Oceans.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Genera in the family Sciaenidae". Catalog of Fishes . California Academy of Sciences . Retrieved 30 April 2023.
  2. 1 2 Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Species in the genus Cynoscion". Catalog of Fishes . California Academy of Sciences . Retrieved 30 April 2023.
  3. Kunio Sasaki (1989). "Phylogeny of the family Sciaenidae, with notes on its Zoogeography (Teleostei, Peciformes)" (PDF). Memoirs of the Faculty of Fishes Hokkaido University. 36 (1–2): 1–137.
  4. J. S. Nelson; T. C. Grande; M. V. H. Wilson (2016). Fishes of the World (5th ed.). Wiley. pp. 497–502. ISBN   978-1-118-34233-6. Archived from the original on 2019-04-08. Retrieved 2023-04-30.
  5. Christopher Scharpf & Kenneth J. Lazara, eds. (9 March 2023). "Series Eupercaria (Incertae sedis): Families Callanthidae, Centrogenyidae, Dinopercidae, Emmelichthyidae, Malacanthidae, Monodactylidae, Moronidae, Parascorpididae, Sciaenidae and Sillagidae". The ETYFish Project Fish Name Etymology Database. Christopher Scharpf and Kenneth J. Lazara. Retrieved 26 April 2023.
  6. "Weakfish". Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control. Retrieved 1 May 2023.
  7. 1 2 3 Froese, Rainer and Pauly, Daniel, eds. (2023). Species of Cynoscion in FishBase . February 2023 version.
  8. 1 2 "Genus: Cynoscion, Weakfish Croaker, Weakfishes". Shorefishes of the Greater Caribbean online information system. Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute . Retrieved 30 April 2023.