Common Name
Cero
Year Described
Bloch, 1793
Identification
Dorsal Fin: XVI-XIX, 15-19, followed by 7-9 finlets
Anal Fin: 15-20, followed by 7-10 finlets
Pectoral Fin: 20-24
Gill Rakers: 2-4 (upper limb), 10-14 (lower limb); 12-18 total
Vertebrae: 47-48
Body elongate and very compressed. Snout about twice eye diameter. Adipose eyelid absent. Jaw extends beyond rear margin of orbit. Teeth strong and compressed. Two short interpelvic processes. Dorsal fins almost touching. Spiny dorsal fin long with a slightly concave edge and raised anterior lobe. Second dorsal and anal fin with tall anterior lobes. Pectoral fin short. Caudal fin strongly forked. Corselet not well developed. Body covered in small scales. Scales cover the entire pectoral fin. Lateral line gently sloping, with only a slight downturn under second dorsal fin. Two small caudal keels with a larger median keel in between them.
Color
Body silvery, with a bluish or greenish sheen on the dorsum. There is a broken golden lateral stripe surrounded by numerous other golden spots and dashes. The first dorsal fin is black on the anterior third. The second dorsal, pectoral, and caudal fin are dusky yellowish. The lower fins are pale.
Size
Maximum size to 80cm FL. Common to 45cm FL.
Habitat
Pelagic in coastal waters, including over reefs. In small schools or solitary.
Range
Massachusetts to Brazil, including the Caribbean islands. Rare or absent on the continental coasts of the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico.
References
Collette, B.B. 2002. Scombridae (pp 1836-1857). In: Carpenter. 2002. The living marine resources of the Western Central Atlantic. Vol. 3: Bony fishes part 2 (Opistognathidae to Molidae), sea turtles and sea mammals. FAO Species Identification Guides for Fisheries Purposes. American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists Special Publication No. 5.
Froese, R. and D. Pauly. Editors. 2011.FishBase. World Wide Web electronic publication. www.fishbase.org
McEachran, J.D. and J.D. Fechhelm. 2005. Fishes of the Gulf of Mexico. Volume 2: Scorpaeniformes to Tetraodontiformes. University of Texas Press, Austin. i-viii +1-1004.