Common Name
Leopard Toadfish
Year Described
Goode & Bean, 1880
Identification
Dorsal Fin: III, 25-27
Anal Fin: 20-22
Pectoral Fin: 19-21
Pelvic Fin: I, 2
Lateral Line: 26-30 upper, 24-25 lower
Vertebrae: 11 precaudal, 23-24 caudal
Head wider, with interorbital distance greater than orbital diameter. Pectoral fin with 8-15 glands. Axillary pore present behind pectoral fin.
Color
Body pale with dense rosettes of small dark spots interspaced between larger dark blotches. Head densely spotted. Fins with dark bands; ones on dorsal and anal fin oblique.
Size
Maximum size to 380mm SL.
Habitat
Offshore waters on rocky reefs.
Range
Gulf of Mexico from Florida to the Yucatan Peninsula.
References
Collette, B. B. 2001. Opsanus dichrostomus, a new toadfish (Teleostei: Batrachoididae) from the western Caribbean Sea and southern Gulf of Mexico. Occasional Papers of the Museum of Zoology University of Michigan No. 731: 1-16.
McEachran, J.D. & J.D. Fechhelm. 1998. Fishes of the Gulf of Mexico. Volume 1: Myxiniformes to Gasterosteiformes. University of Texas Press, Austin. i-viii + 1-1112.