Teleostei (teleosts) >
Eupercaria/misc (Various families in series Eupercaria) >
Sciaenidae (Drums or croakers)
Etymology: Cynoscion: Greek, kyon = dog + Greek, odous = teeth + Greek, skion, skiaina = barbel, red mullet (Ref. 45335).
More on author: Cuvier.
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Marine; brackish; demersal; depth range 10 - 50 m (Ref. 9626), usually ? - 25 m (Ref. 9626). Tropical; 14°N - 27°S, 83°W - 34°W
Western Atlantic: Panama to Santos, Brazil. Also reported in Nicaragua (Ref. 13613).
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 90.8 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 9626); common length : 35.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 3702); max. published weight: 2.0 kg (Ref. 5217)
Dorsal spines (total): 11; Dorsal soft rays (total): 20 - 24; Anal spines: 2; Anal soft rays: 8 - 10. Silvery bluish on back, often with greenish reflections. Whitish on belly. Upper sides sometimes with inconspicuous minute dark dots. Soft portion of dorsal fin and caudal fin edged with black, pelvic and anal fins yellowish. Inside of opercle dark, visible externally. Mouth large, pointed, lower jaw projecting. Upper jaw with a pair of large canine-teeth at tip. Chin without barbel or obvious pores. Snout with 2 marginal pores. Gas bladder with a pair of curved, horn-like anterior appendages. Scales small, all cycloid (smooth). Soft dorsal-fin base with 1 or 2 rows of scales along its base (Ref 51721).
Found over mud and sand bottoms in river estuaries. Occurs up to 50 m but usually less than 25 m (Ref. 9626). Marketed fresh and salted.
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturities | Reproduction | Spawnings | Egg(s) | Fecundities | Larvae
Cervigón, F., 1993. Los peces marinos de Venezuela. Volume 2. Fundación Científica Los Roques, Caracas,Venezuela. 497 p. (Ref. 9626)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435)
Threat to humans
Harmless
Human uses
Fisheries: commercial; gamefish: yes
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Estimates based on models
Preferred temperature (Ref.
123201): 24.8 - 27.9, mean 27.3 °C (based on 60 cells).
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref.
82804): PD
50 = 0.5000 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00794 (0.00509 - 0.01238), b=3.07 (2.95 - 3.19), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this species & Genus-body shape (Ref.
93245).
Trophic level (Ref.
69278): 3.1 ±0.40 se; based on food items.
Generation time: 3.1 ( na - na) years. Estimated as median ln(3)/K based on 1
growth studies.
Resilience (Ref.
120179): Medium, minimum population doubling time 1.4 - 4.4 years (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref.
59153): Moderate vulnerability (37 of 100).
Nutrients (Ref.
124155): Calcium = 93.2 [57.6, 183.3] mg/100g; Iron = 0.965 [0.503, 1.639] mg/100g; Protein = 18.3 [16.7, 20.0] %; Omega3 = 0.195 [0.107, 0.317] g/100g; Selenium = 64.8 [36.2, 121.6] μg/100g; VitaminA = 10.7 [4.4, 26.2] μg/100g; Zinc = 1.17 [0.86, 1.67] mg/100g (wet weight); based on
nutrient studies.