Opsanus pardus

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.