Species of Fish

The American shad  is a species of anadromous fish distributed from southern Labrador to northern Florida. American shad are in family Clupeidae of order Clupeiformes. They are not closely related to the other North American shads. Rather, it seems to form a lineage that diverged from a common ancestor of the European taxa before these diver...

Atlantic croaker are about 12 inches (30 cm) long and weigh 1/2 to 2 pounds (226 g to 0.9 kg) on average. Its distinguishing characteristics include three to five pairs of small barbels or "whiskers" on their chins to help them feel for food on the sea floor; a lateral line that extends to the tip of its caudal (tail) fin; inferior mout...

The Atlantic mackerel (Scomber scombrus), also known as Boston mackerel, Norwegian mackerel, Scottish mackerel, is a species of mackerel found in the temperate waters of the Mediterranean Sea, the Black Sea, and the northern Atlantic Ocean, where it is extremely common and occurs in huge schools in the pelagic zone down to about 200 m (660 ft). I...

The Atlantic menhaden (Brevoortia tyrannus) is a North American species of fish in the herring family, Clupeidae. Atlantic menhaden are found in the North Atlantic coastal and estuarine waters from Nova Scotia south to northern Florida. They are commonly found in all salinities of the Chesapeake Bay and Mid-Atlantic water. They swim in large scho...

The Blue Runner (Caranx crysos), also known as the bluestripe jack, Egyptian scad, hardtail jack or hardnose, is a common species of moderately large marine fish classified in the jack family, Carangidae. The blue runner is distributed across the Atlantic Ocean, ranging from Brazil to Canada in the western Atlantic and from Angola to Great Britai...

The ladyfish or tenpounder (Elops saurus) is a species of fish in the genus Elops, the only genus in the monotypic family Elopidae. Like other species in its genus, the ladyfish has a long, slender, rounded body covered with silvery scales. Its mouth is terminal and the tail is deeply forked. The species can be distinguished by counting the numbe...

The little tunny (Euthynnus alletteratus) is the most common tuna in the Atlantic Ocean. It is found in warm temperate and tropical waters of the Atlantic and the Mediterranean; in the western Atlantic, it ranges from Brazil to the New England states. Occurring in large schools and weighing up to 30 pounds, it is the smallest member of the tuna S...

Pigfish are characterized by a long, sloping snout, 12 to 13 anal fin rays and the grunting sound they make when removed from the water. The fish are a pale blue-gray color at the top that shades to silver below. The cheeks and upper sides have brassy or golden variable markings that form wavy lines and the fins are yellow-bronze. Pigfish grow to...

A small fish with an oval body, small mouth, incisor-like teeth and sharp dorsal spines. The body is silvery with yellow and blue horizontal stripes and four or five vertical lines. There is a black spot behind the gill cover. The pectoral and caudal fins are yellow. The dorsal fin is blue and yellow striped. Pinfish grow to 8 inches, but common...

The Scaled Sardine, Harengula jaguana, is a herring-like fish in the family Clupeidae. It is native to coastal waters of the western Atlantic Ocean, from the Gulf of Mexico (where it is known as the pilchard. It has a solid back with dark streaks and usually a small dark spot at the upper edge of the gill plate and sometimes one located at the...

The scup (Stenotomus chrysops) is a fish which occurs primarily in the Atlantic between Massachusetts and South Carolina.  Scup are deep-bodied (deeper from back to belly than they are wide). They are dusky brown with bright silvery reflections below and spiny fins. Adult fins are mottled with dark brown, and young scup fins may be faintly b...

The Striped Mullet, also known as “jumping mullet”, has two widely spaced dorsal fins and a large eye parallel with their mouths. The back is bluish-gray or green, shading to silvery sides and a white belly. They also have many thin horizontal stripes along their side. The second dorsal fin starts over the beginning of the anal fin. A...

The Atlantic thread herring (Opisthonema oglinum) is a herring-like fish in the family Clupeidae. It has a dark blue-gray back, silvery sides, a white belly, and a small head. Upper sides blue-green, sometimes with dark horizontal lines, lower sides and abdomen silvery; dark spot on side posterior to gill cover, about equal in size to diameter of...