Sciaenidae

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Sciaenidae
Micropogonias undulatus RR 072120 0655 (50142583921).jpg
Atlantic croaker, Micropogonias undulatus
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Acanthuriformes
Suborder: Sciaenoidei
Family: Sciaenidae
Cuvier, 1829 [1]
Genera

About 66–70, see text

Sciaenidae is a family of ray-finned fishes belonging to the order Acanthuriformes. [2] They are commonly called drums or croakers [2] [3] in reference to the repetitive throbbing or drumming sounds they make. [4] The family consists of about 293 [3] to 298 species [5] in about 66 [3] or 67 genera. [2]

Contents

Taxonomy

Sciaenidae was first proposed as a family in 1829 by the French zoologist Georges Cuvier. [1] The 5th edition of Fishes of the World classifies the family in the suborder Sciaenoidei, alongside the rover family Emmelichthyidae, in the order Acanthuriformes. [2] Other authorities classify the Sciaenidae and the Emmelichthyidae as incertae sedis within the series Eupercaria. [6] The Catalog of Fishes retains this family within the Acanthuriformes but does not recognise the suborder Sciaenoidei. [7]

The 5th edition of Fishes of the World, Fishbase and Catalog of Fishes do not recognise subfamilies within the Sciaenidae [2] [3] [7] but many workers on these fishes do recognise subfamilies and tribes within the family. For example, in 1989 Kunio Sasaki erected a number of subfamilies and tribes. [8]

Genera

The following genera are classified within the family Sciaenidae: [5]

Juvenile spotted drumfish, Bonaire, Netherlands Antilles 7080 aquaimages.jpg
Juvenile spotted drumfish, Bonaire, Netherlands Antilles
Adult and juvenile spotted drumfish, St. Kitts 3726 aquaimages.jpg
Adult and juvenile spotted drumfish, St. Kitts

Etymology

Sciaenidae takes its name from its type genus Sciaena which is derived from the Greek skiaina, which was used to refer to marine perch-like fishes. [11]

Characteristics

A sciaenid has a long dorsal fin reaching nearly to the tail, and a notch between the rays and spines of the dorsal, although the two parts are actually separate. [12] Drums are somberly coloured, usually in shades of brown, with a lateral line on each side that extends to the tip of the caudal fin. The anal fin usually has two spines, while the dorsal fins are deeply notched or separate. Most species have a rounded or pointed caudal fin. The mouth is set low and is usually inferior. Their croaking mechanism involves the beating of abdominal muscles against the swim bladder. [12]

Sciaenids are found worldwide, in both fresh and salt water, and are typically benthic carnivores, feeding on invertebrates and smaller fish. They are small to medium-sized, bottom-dwelling fishes living primarily in estuaries, bays, and muddy river banks. Most of these fish types avoid clear waters, such as coral reefs and oceanic islands, with a few notable exceptions (e.g. reef croaker, high-hat, and spotted drum). They live in warm-temperate and tropical waters and are best represented in major rivers in Southeast Asia, northeast South America, the Gulf of Mexico, and the Gulf of California. [12]

In the United States most fishers consider freshwater drum to be rough fish not suitable for eating, similar to carp, gar, and buffalo fish, although there are a number of people that enjoy fishing for these species and eating them, despite their limitations. [13]

Fisheries

An 1865 watercolor painting of Brazilian croaker by Jacques Burkhardt. Corvina (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 11 July 1865).jpg
An 1865 watercolor painting of Brazilian croaker by Jacques Burkhardt.

They are excellent food and sport fish, and are commonly caught by surf and pier fishers. Some are important commercial fishery species, notably small yellow croaker with reported landings of 218,000–407,000 tonnes in 2000–2009; according to FAO fishery statistics, it was the 25th most important fishery species worldwide. [14] However, a large proportion of the catch is not reported at species level; in the FAO fishery statistics, the category "Croakers, drums, not elsewhere included", is the largest one within sciaenids, with annual landings of 431,000–780,000 tonnes in 2000–2009, most of which were reported from the western Indian Ocean (FAO fishing area 51) and northwest Pacific (FAO fishing area 61). [14] The future of croakers, like many other fish species in the United States and around the world is uncertain because overfishing continues to be a major threats. The population has decreased significantly which will affect their ability reproduce. In United States Croakers are managed by the federal and state governments to ensure that they're harvested sustainably. [15]

Croaking mechanism

A notable trait of sciaenids is the ability to produce a "croaking" sound. However, the pitch and use of croaking varies species to species. The croaking ability is a distinguishing characteristic of sciaenids. [4] The croaking mechanism is used by males as a mating call in some species.

To produce the croaking sound, special muscles vibrate against the swim bladder. [16] These muscles are called sonic muscle fibres, and run horizontally along the fish's body on both sides around the swim bladder, connected to a central tendon that surrounds the swim bladder ventrally. These sonic muscle fibres are repeatedly contracted against the swim bladder to produce the croaking sound that gives drum and croaker their common name, effectively using the swim bladder as a resonating chamber. The sciaenids' large swim bladder is more expansive and branched than other species, which aids in the croaking. [17] In some species the sonic muscle fibres are only present in males. These muscles strengthen during the mating season and are allowed to atrophy the rest of the time, deactivating the croaking mechanism. [16] In other species, most notably the Atlantic croaker, the croaking mechanism is present in both sexes and remains active year-round. These species are thought to use croaking for communication, such as announcing hazards and location when in turbid water. [16]

Croaking in communication

In some species, croaking is used for communication aside from attracting mates. For those species that have year-round croaking ability, the croaks may serve as a low-aggression warning during group feeding, as well as to communicate location in cloudy water. In those species that lack the ability to croak year-round, croaking is usually restricted to males for attracting mates. A disadvantage to the croaking ability is that it allows bottlenose dolphin to easily locate large groups of croaker and drum as they broadcast their position, indicating large amounts of food for the dolphins. [16]

Timeline of genera

QuaternaryNeogenePaleogeneHolocenePleist.Plio.MioceneOligoceneEocenePaleoceneSpotfin croakerPennahiaGenyonemusSeriphus (fish)AplodinotusSciaenaMenticirrhusCynoscionBairdiellaSciaenopsUmbrinaPogoniasNebrisCtenosciaenaArgyrosomusLarimusQuaternaryNeogenePaleogeneHolocenePleist.Plio.MioceneOligoceneEocenePaleoceneSciaenidae

Related Research Articles

<i>Argyrosomus</i> Genus of fishes in the drum family, Sciaenidae

Argyrosomus is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Sciaenidae, the drums. The fish in this genus are large and are commonly targeted as game fish.

Bahaba is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Sciaenidae, the drums and croakers. These fishes are found in the Indo-West Pacific region.

<i>Cynoscion</i> Genus of fishes

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.

<i>Larimichthys</i> Genus of fishes

Larimichthys is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Sciaenidae, the drums and croakers. These fishes, commonly known as yellow croakers, are found in the Western Pacific Ocean.

<i>Boesemania</i> Genus of freshwater fish

Boesemania is a monospecific genus of freshwater fish in the family Sciaenidae. This genus contains the single species Boesemania microlepis. Also known as the Boeseman croaker and smallscale croaker, this fish lives in southeast Asian rivers.

<i>Panna</i> (fish) Genus of fishes

Panna is a genus of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Sciaenidae, the drums and croakers. These fishes are found in southern and southeast Asia.

<i>Bairdiella</i> Genus of fishes

Bairdiella 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 Ocean.

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

Reeve's croaker, also known as the goldbelly croaker, golden corvina, yellowfin croaker or yellowfin corvina, is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Sciaenidae, the drums and croakers. This species is found in the coastal waters of the Indo-Pacific region. It is the only species in the monospecific genus Chrysochir.

<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>Nibea</i> Genus of fishes

Nibea is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Sciaenidae, the drums and croakers. The species in this genus are found in the Indo-West Pacific region.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Acanthuriformes</span> Order of fishes

Acanthuriformes is an order of ray-finned fishes, part of the Percomorpha clade. Some authorities place the fishes in the order within the Acanthuriformes in the suborders Acanthuroidea and Percoidea of the order Perciformes.

<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.

The prickly croaker is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Sciaenidae, the drums and croakers. The species is found in the Indo-West Pacific around southeast Asia. It is the only species in the monospecific genus Aspericorvina.

<i>Atrobucca</i>

Atrobucca is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Sciaenidae, the drums and croakers. These fishes are found in the Indo-West Pacific region.

The yellowtail croaker, also known as the yellowtail jewfish, is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Sciaenidae, the drums and croakers. This species is found in the southwestern Pacific Ocean off northern Australia and southern New Guinea. It is the only species in the monospecific genus Austronibea.

<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.

<i>Johnius carutta</i>

Johnius carutta, the karut croaker or purple jewfish, is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Sciaenidae, the drums and croakers. This species is found in the western Indian Ocean.

<i>Otolithes</i>

Otolithes is a small genus of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Sciaenidae, the drums and croakers. The three recognised species in the genus are found in the Indo-West Pacific region.

<i>Pachypops</i>

Pachypops is a small genus of freshwater ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Sciaenidae, the drums and croakers. The three recognised species in the genus are found in South America.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Half-mourning croaker</span>

The half-mourning croaker is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Sciaenidae, the drums and croakers. It is the only species in the monospecific genus Paranibea. This fish is found in the Indo-Pacific region.

References

  1. 1 2 Richard van der Laan; William N. Eschmeyer & Ronald Fricke (2014). "Family-group names of recent fishes". Zootaxa. 3882 (2): 1–230. doi: 10.11646/zootaxa.3882.1.1 . PMID   25543675.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 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.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Froese, Rainer, and Daniel Pauly, eds. (2023). "Sciaenidae" in FishBase . February 2023 version.
  4. 1 2 Ramcharitar, John; Gannon, Damon; Popper, Arthur (May 16, 2006), "Bioacoustics of fishes of the family Sciaenidae", Transactions of the American Fisheries Society, 135 (5): 1409–1431, doi:10.1577/T05-207.1
  5. 1 2 Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Genera in the family Sciaenidae". Catalog of Fishes . California Academy of Sciences . Retrieved 17 April 2023.
  6. ↑ Ricardo Betancur-R; Edward O. Wiley; Gloria Arratia; et al. (2017). "Phylogenetic classification of bony fishes". BMC Evolutionary Biology. 17 (162). doi: 10.1186/s12862-017-0958-3 .
  7. 1 2 "Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes Classification". California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 17 April 2023.
  8. ↑ 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.
  9. ↑ Don L. Frizzell; John H. Dante (1965). "Otoliths of some early Cenozoic fishes of the Gulf Coast". Journal of Paleontology. 39 (4): 687–718.
  10. ↑ Lo P-C; Liu S-H; Nor SAM; Chen W-J (2017). "Molecular exploration of hidden diversity in the Indo-West Pacific sciaenid clade". PLoS ONE. 12 (4): e0176623. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0176623.
  11. ↑ 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 17 April 2023.
  12. 1 2 3 Johnson, G.D. & Gill, A.C. (1998). Paxton, J.R. & Eschmeyer, W.N. (eds.). Encyclopedia of Fishes. San Diego: Academic Press. p. 182. ISBN   978-0-12-547665-2.
  13. ↑ "Why These Overlooked Fish May Be the Tastiest (and Most Sustainable) - WSJ" . Retrieved 2017-07-02.
  14. 1 2 FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations) (2011). Yearbook of fishery and aquaculture statistics 2009. Capture production (PDF). Rome: FAO. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2017-05-19.
  15. ↑ "Global atlantic croaker production". husfarm.com.
  16. 1 2 3 4 Roach, John (November 7, 2005), Fish Croaks Like a Frog, But Why? , retrieved December 1, 2011
  17. ↑ Collin, Shaun; N. Justin Marshall (2003). Sensory processing in aquatic environments. New York: Springer-Verlag New York. ISBN   978-0-387-95527-8.

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