Species: Lobotes surinamensis, Atlantic Tripletail

Lobotes surinamensis (Bloch, 1790)

Atlantic Tripletail

Body oval to oblong, compressed; forehead profile slightly concave; top jaw slightly protrusible, rear bone exposed when mouth closed; jaws with outer row of short, close-set canines and an inner band of smaller teeth; no teeth on roof of mouth; gill rakers 6-7 + 13-15; preopercle strongly serrated, the serrae decreasing in size and increasing in number with age; operculum with 2 flat, concealed spines; dorsal fin with XII strong spines, 15-16 soft rays, no notch between spiny and soft part; anal fin III, 11; soft dorsal and anal fins high, with rounded ends, reaching well past base of tail fin, giving appearance to symmetrical extra tails; pectorals shorter than pelvics; tail rounded, with 15 branched rays; scales moderate sized, rough, covering body and head except before and below eyes and jaws, bases of dorsal and anal fins scaled; lateral-line scales 43-45.

Dark brown or greenish yellow on back, silvery grey on sides; pectoral fins pale yellow; other fins dusky; juveniles generally dark brownish, but may be mottled or bright yellow.

Size: grows to 110 cm; IGFA 19.2 kg.

Occurs in bays and brackish estuaries, and often well out to sea, around floating objects; juveniles sometimes in floating Sargassum weed; they may lay on their side at the surface and mimic a drifting dark leaf.

Depth: 0-70 m.

Atlantic and W Pacific; New England to Argentina.