Common Name
Pacuma Toadfish
Year Described
Bloch & Schneider, 1801
Identification
Dorsal Fin: III, 28-30
Anal Fin: 25-27
Pectoral Fin: 20-22
Pelvic Fin: I, 2
Lateral Line: 54-67 upper, 48-66 lower
Vertebrae: 36-39
Head flattened with tiny eyes (2-4% SL). Two subopercular spines. Two opercular spines. No venom glands. Body covered in tiny scales. Scales extend forward all the way to the middle of the head. Pectoral fin glands number 3-11.
Color
Body medium brown with 3 distinct dark brown saddles under the dorsal fin and on the caudal peduncle. A few darker bars transversing top of head. Variably displays random darker and lighter spots. Dorsal fin body colored with faint banding or blotching. Anal fin plain brown. Other fins with random incomplete banding or random spots.
Size
Maximum size to 340mm SL.
Habitat
Shallow coastal marine waters and also brackish waters in estuaries.
Range
Honduras to the Gulf of Venezuela, and Trinidad to S.E. Brazil. The gap in range corresponds to the range of B. manglae.
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.