Common Name
Acoupa Weakfish
Year Described
Lacepède, 1801
Identification
Dorsal Fin: X; 1, 17-22
Anal Fin: II, 7-9
Pectoral Fin:
Gill Rakers: 10-16 (first arch)
Color
Body gray grading to silvery on the belly. Sometimes with faint oblique spot-lines above lateral line. Faint blotch at base of pectoral fin. Fins dusky orange (darker on dorsal and caudal fins). Inside of opercular flap dark.
Size
Maximum size to 120cm TL.
Habitat
Shallow coastal waters (1-22m) and estuaries over soft bottoms. Common in the surf zone and low salinities.
Range
Panama to Brazil (continental coasts only).
References
Chao, N.L. 2002. Sciaenidae (pp. 1583-1653). In: Carpenter. 2002. The living marine resources of the Western Central Atlantic. Vol. 3: Bony fishes part 2 (Opistognathidae to Molidae). FAO Species Identification Guides for Fisheries Purposes. American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists Special Publication No. 5. FAO of the U.N., Rome.