Leatherjacket (Oligoplites saurus)

Scientific name: Oligoplites saurus Bloch & Schneider, 1801

Leatherjacket (Oligoplites saurus)

The Leatherjacket (Oligoplites saurus) is a brackish-water fish of the family Carangidae.

Biology

Dorsal spines (total): 5 - 6; Dorsal soft rays (total): 19-21; Anal spines: 2 - 3; Anal soft rays: 18 - 21. Body elongate and strongly compressed (depth from 3.5 to 4.4 times in standard length); posterior end of upper jaw reaching posterior rim of eye; upper jaw teeth small and villiform; lower branch of first gill arch with 14 to 18 gill rakers; scales small but visible, needle-shaped, embedded in the skin; back blue green; flanks and belly silvery to white, sometimes with yellow or golden highlights; pectoral and caudal fins yellowish; Dorsal fin has 5 nearly separate spines.

Source: FishBase, licensed CC BY-NC 4.0.

Species facts

Scientific name
Oligoplites saurus
Family
Carangidae (Jacks and pompanos)
Order
Perciformes (Perch-like fish)
Class
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned fishes)
Maximum length
35.0
Common length
27.0
Environment
Marine; brackish; reef-associated
Climate
Subtropical
Distribution
Western Atlantic: Maine, USA and northern Gulf of Mexico to Uruguay; throughout most of the West Indies. Absent from the Bahamas. Eastern Pacific: Baja California, Mexico to Ecuador. Two subspecies exists: Oligoplites saurus saurus (western Atlantic population) and Oligoplites saurus inornatus (eastern Pacific population).
Conservation status (IUCN)
Not Evaluated
Threat to humans
Venomous
Uses
Fisheries: minor commercial; gamefish: yes; bait: occasionally
Resilience
High, minimum population doubling time less than 15 months (Preliminary K or Fecundity.)

Sources

Taxonomy, distribution and biology data: FishBase (Froese, R. and D. Pauly, eds.), licensed CC BY-NC 4.0.

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