Species: Stenotomus chrysops, Scup, Scup Porgy

Stenotomus chrysops (Linnaeus, 1766)

Scup, Scup Porgy

Body very deep, oval, compressed; head deep, upper profile steep, with a small concavity above eye; rear nostril a slit; preopercle border smooth; mouth small, opens at front; bone under front of eye overlaps rear bone of top jaw; front jaw teeth are strongly flattened incisors, narrow tips and with narrowing bases, close-set, in bands, 2 rows of molar teeth on sides of jaws; dorsal fin XIII, 12, 1st spine very short & points forward, no spines long and filamentous; anal fin III, 11; pectoral very long, reaches past 3rd anal spine; tail forked; 49-54 lateral line scales; cheeks and opercles scaly, but no scales on snout or between the eye and mouth.

Silvery, olivaceous on back, usually with 5-6 faint dark bars on upper body, plus 12-15 indistinct stripes; faint blue spots on head, body and fins; a blue patch above and behind each eye.

Reaches 46 cm; 1.9 kg.

Lives on hard bottoms.

Depth range: 0-200 m.

Nova Scotia to Florida.