Species: Calamus leucosteus, Whitebone Porgy

Calamus leucosteus Jordan & Gilbert in Jordan, 1885

Whitebone Porgy

Body oval, compressed, moderately deep; head deep, snout moderately deep, but not very steep; rear nostril slit-like; a small bony tubercle above rear nostril; large mouth with thick lips, bone under front of eye overlaps rear bone of top jaw; heavy lower jaw; both jaws with equal sized canines at front, molar teeth at sides (3 row above, 2 below); preopercle border smooth; dorsal fin low, XI-XIII, 12 (11-13); anal fin short, III short spines, 9-11 soft rays; pectoral fin usually 16 ( but15-17) rays, fin long (29-42% SL, reaching level of anal spines); cheeks and opercles scaly, but no scales on snout or between the eye and mouth; lateral line scales 44-49.

Overall silvery, with an iridescent blue tint; irregular purplish-grey blotches on side; snout dark purplish grey; an irridescent dark blue line under eye, another above eye; no dark spot on upper base of pectoral fin; may show ~5 dark bars.

Size: to 46 cm.

Habitat: on sand and mud bottoms.

Depth: 10-100 m.

North Carolina to the tip of the Yucatan peninsula.