Spot croaker (Leiostomus xanthurus)

Scientific name: Leiostomus xanthurus Lacep?de, 1802

Spot croaker (Leiostomus xanthurus)

The Spot croaker (Leiostomus xanthurus) is a brackish-water fish of the family Sciaenidae. Native range: Western Atlantic, Massachusetts to northern Mexico; absent in southern Florida.

Biology

Found usually over sandy or muddy bottoms in coastal waters to about 60 m depth. Occurs in nursery and feeding grounds in river estuaries during summer and fall. Juveniles often stay in the estuarine waters throughout the year. Feeds mainly on worms, small crustaceans and organic detritus. A small specimen of this species was caught in Tokyo Bay, Japan, probably brought in with the ballast water of a ship.

Source: FishBase, licensed CC BY-NC 4.0.

Species facts

Scientific name
Leiostomus xanthurus
Family
Sciaenidae (Drums or croakers)
Order
Perciformes (Perch-like fish)
Class
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned fishes)
Maximum length
36.0
Common length
25.0
Depth range
60 m (197 ft)
Environment
Marine; brackish; demersal; oceanodromous; depth range ? - 60 m
Climate
Subtropical
Distribution
Western Atlantic: Massachusetts to northern Mexico; absent in southern Florida.
Conservation status (IUCN)
Not Evaluated
Threat to humans
Harmless
Uses
Fisheries: commercial; bait: occasionally
Resilience
High, minimum population doubling time less than 15 months (K=0.4; tmax=4)

Sources

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

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