Species: Lagodon rhomboides, Pinfish, Pinfish Porgy

Lagodon rhomboides (Linnaeus, 1766)

Pinfish, Pinfish Porgy

Body deep, oval, compressed; head deep, snout pointed; rear nostril oval shaped; mouth small, opens at front; bone under front of eye overlaps rear bone of top jaw; both jaws with 8 flattened, broad, deeply notched incisors at front, 2 (2-3) rows of molar-like teeth at sides; margin of preopercle smooth; dorsal fin low, XIII, 12, 1st spine small, forward-pointing, sometimes buried under skin; anal fin III, 11; pectoral longer than pelvic; tail forked; cheeks and opercles scaly, but no scales on snout or between the eye and mouth.

Body silvery olive; with blue stripes that are narrower than interspaces; a blackish spot near origin of lateral line; 6 diffuse dark bars on body; anal fin yellow, with broad light blue margin; pectoral and tail fins yellow.

Reaches 40 cm.

Typically found on vegetated bottoms, occasionally on rocky bottoms and mangroves; enters brackish to freshwater.

Depth range: 1-20 m.

Cape Cod to the central Caribbean.