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Species: Eucinostomus lefroyi, Mottled mojarra

All Families:   All Genera:   All Species:

very slender: body depth 28-32% SL
back: 6 wavy forward pointing saddles join 8 flank
8 lower gill rakers
A II, 1st ray branched
scaleless pit before eyes not closed/restricted at front by scales

Eucinostomus lefroyi (Goode, 1874)

Mottled mojarra

Body very slender, fusiform, compressed, depth 27.8-32.3% of SL; eye large; the lower profile of the head distinctively concave; the mouth is highly extensible, pointing downward when protruded; jaws appear toothless but have tiny, brush-like teeth; lower border of preopercle smooth; bone under front of eye with smooth border; margin of bone under eye and of preopercle smooth; 7 lower gill rakers; dorsal fin IX, 10, 2nd spine </= distance between tip of snout and rear of eye, last spine short (5.8-7.1% of SL); pectoral not reaching to anal fin origin; anal rays II, 8, spines weak, 2nd spine short, < height of tail base, 1st ray branched; tail fin deeply forked; scales large, conspicuous and finely rough, covering most of head and body; dorsal and anal fins fold into a high scaly sheath along their bases; pectorals without scales; scales extend before front of eye on top of snout around scaleless groove that is neither constricted on each side at front by scales, nor crossed by a row scales at front; lateral line scales 44-46.

Silvery; 6 wavy oblique bars (angled down and forwards) that join 8 dark blotches along mid-side, the last 2 on tail base are the darkest; tip of spiny dorsal usually clear, tail dusky.

Grows to 23 cm.

On high energy sand bottoms; not in estuaries or brackish water.

Depth: 0-45 m.

N Carolina to NE Brazil.


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Salinity
  • Marine
  • Marine Only
Inshore/Offshore
  • Inshore Only
  • Inshore
Water Column Position
  • Bottom
Habitat
  • Beach
  • Reef associated (reef + edges-water column & soft bottom)
  • Sand & gravel
  • Soft bottom (mud/sand/gravel/beach/estuary/mangrove/seagrass)
  • Reef (rock/coral/oyster)
  • Soft bottom only
FishBase Habitat
  • Reef Associated
  • Demersal
Feeding Group
  • Carnivore
  • Data
Diet
  • Data
  • Mobile benthic worms
  • Mobile benthic crustacea (shrimps/crabs)
Egg Type
  • Data
  • Pelagic
  • Pelagic larva
Global Endemism
  • Greater Caribbean non-endemic
  • West Atlantic Endemic
  • All species.
Regional Endemism
  • Also in Brazil
  • Extends N + S of GC
  • Extends North of GC
  • Continent + Island (s)
  • Extends South of GC
  • Island (s)
  • Continent
  • All species..
  • GC non-endemic
Residency
  • Resident
Climate Zone
  • Equatorial (0-10N, Costa Rica / Venezuela)
  • Tropical (10-23N, Nicaragua / Cuba)
  • Subtropical (23-35N, Florida / Carolinas / Bermuda)
IUCN Red List
  • Listed
  • Least concern
CITES
  • Not listed
Length Max
  • 23
Depth Range Min
  • 0
Depth Range Max
  • 45