Common Name
Blackmouth Bass
Year Described
Goode & Bean, 1896
Identification
Dorsal Fin: IX-I, 8-9 (usually 9)
Anal Fin: II, 7-8 (usually 7)
Pectoral Fin: 15-17
Pelvic Fin: I, 5
Lateral Line Scales: 28-31
Gill Rakers: 15-19 total in first arch (11-14 in lower limb)
Body quite elongate with body depth 3.3-3.8 times in SL. Upper and lower jaws with canine teeth. Palatine teeth villiform. Preopercle with weak serrations. Lower rear margin of preopercle with 2-3 small ridges. Dorsal fins well separated. Anterior margin of pelvic fin smooth. Anterior edge of second dorsal and anal fin spines smooth.
Color
Body gray with a metallic sheen. Scale margins are black. Tip of dorsal fin with a dark blotch. Preserved material dark brown to blackish.
Size
Ranges from 40-307mm SL.
Habitat
Continental shelf and slope from 60-1000m.
Range
Canada to Brazil, including the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea.
References
Heemstra, P.C. 2002. Parazenidae (Pp. 1203-1204), Zeniontidae (Pp. 1205-1206), Zeidae (Pp. 1207-1209), Oreosomatidae (Pp. 1212-1213), Grammicolepidae (Pp. 1214-1216), Moronidae (Pp. 1294-1296), Acropomatidae (Pp. 1299-1303). In: Carpenter, 2002. The living marine resources of the Western Central Atlantic Vol. 2: Bony fishes part 1 (Acipenseridae to Grammatidae). FAO Species Identification Guides for Fisheries Purposes. American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists Special Publication No. 5.
Mejía, L.S., A. Acero P., A. Roa and L. Saavedra. 2001. Review of the fishes of the genus Synagrops from the tropical Western Atlantic (Perciformes: Acropomatidae). Caribb. J. Sci. 37(3-4):202-209.