Common Name
Cotuero Toadfish
Year Described
Cervigón, 1964
Identification
Dorsal Fin: III, 21-24
Anal Fin: 19-21
Pectoral Fin: 18-21
Pelvic Fin: I, 2
Lateral Line: 31-40 upper, 29-37 lower
Vertebrae: 31-33
Head flattened with small eyes (5-7% SL). Two subopercular spines. Two opercular spines. No venom glands. Body covered in tiny scales. Scales barely extend anteriorly past rear of head. Pectoral fin glands number 6-11.
Color
Body brown with faint irregular dark crossbands and tiny pale spots and speckles. Two dark bands radiate from front and rear of eye. Fins plain brown with faint banding.
Size
Maximum size to 300mm SL.
Habitat
Shallow coastal waters and mangrove swamps.
Range
Off central and eastern Venezuela.
References
Collette, B.B. 2002. Batrachoididae (pp 1026-1042). In: Carpenter. 2002. The living marine resources of the Western Central Atlantic. Vol. 2: Bony fishes part 1 (Acipenseridae-Grammatidae). FAO Species Identification Guides for Fisheries Purposes. American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists Special Publication No. 5.
Collette, B.B. & J.L. Russo. 1981. A revision of the scaly toadfishes, genus Batrachoides, with descriptions of two new species from the eastern Pacific. Bulletin of Marine Science v. 31 (no. 2): 197-233.