Common Name
Sand Weakfish
Year Described
Ginsburg, 1930
Identification
Dorsal Fin: IX-X; 1, 25-29
Anal Fin: II, 10-12
Pectoral Fin:
Gill Rakers: 12-14 (first arch)
Color
Body silvery with no obvious markings. Fins dusky yellow with dorsal and caudal fins being darkest. A diffuse black blotch on pectoral base. Upper rays of pectoral fin darker than rest. Inside of opercular flap blackish.
Size
Maximum size to 65cm TL.
Habitat
Coastal waters (1-182m) and estuaries over soft bottoms. Common in the surf zone.
Range
E. Florida to the Bay of Campeche, Mexico.
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.