Species: Trachinotus carolinus, Florida Pompano

Trachinotus carolinus (Linnaeus, 1766)

Florida Pompano

Body deep but relatively elongate, compressed; upper and lower profiles similar; snout blunt; mouth reaches under eye; top jaw extendible; jaw teeth small, conical, curved, absent in fish >20 cm FL; gill rakers 5-7 + 8-14; dorsal fin with VI short, stout spines, 1st resorbed in adults, 22-27 (usually 23-25) rays; anal fin II + I, 20-24 (usually 21-22) rays; dorsal & anal fin front lobes raised but not highly elongated; base of anal about same length as that of soft dorsal; no finlets after 2nd dorsal and anal fins; pectoral fin short (< head length); tail base slender, without notches above & below; tail strongly forked; no scutes (hard, spiny scales) on lateral line; body scales oval.

Plain silvery, bluish green above; white below; no distinctive markings.

Reaches 64 cm, 3.8 kg.

On shallow sandy bottoms of beaches, bays and estuaries.

Depth range: 0-70 m.

Massachusetts to Brazil.