Species: Trachinotus cayennensis, Cayenne Pompano

Trachinotus cayennensis Cuvier in Cuvier & Valenciennes, 1832

Cayenne Pompano

Body deep but somewhat elongated, compressed; upper and lower profiles similar; snout blunt; mouth reaches under eye; top jaw extendible; jaw teeth small, conical, curved, decreasing in number with growth but always present; gill rakers 5-7 + 14-17; dorsal fin with V short, stout spines, 1st resorbed in adults, 26-29 (usually 27-28) rays; anal fin II + I, 26-27 (23-27) rays; dorsal & anal fin front lobes low; base of anal about same length as that of soft dorsal; no finlets after 2nd dorsal and anal fins; pectoral fin < head length; tail base slender, without notches above & below; tail strongly forked, tail fin of large adults with very long, pointed lobes, top lobe longer; no scutes (hard, spiny scales) on lateral line; body scales oval.

Dark blue to grey above; sides and belly silvery, sometimes with an orange cast; snout and top jaw dark; in large adults dorsal fin yellow grey, tip of fin lobe and 1st ray black; anal fin yellowish grey, lobe darker; tail fin yellow, with dark grey margin; small adults fins pale, with yellowish areas.

Reaches 56 cm.

On shallow sandy and muddy bottoms inshore and in estuaries; young in shallow water.

Depth range: 0-70 m; adults below ~16 m.

Venezuela to Brazil.