Species: Bairdiella chrysoura, Silver Perch, Silver Croaker, Silver Perch Croaker

Bairdiella chrysoura (Lacepede, 1803)

Silver Perch, Silver Croaker, Silver Perch Croaker

Body oblong, compressed; head narrow, cavernous but firm to touch; eye large (21-24% of head length); snout with 8 pores, 3 above and 5 on sides; chin with 6 pores, no chin barbell; mouth opens at front, moderately large (reaching to under rear edge of eye), oblique; teeth small, conical, in narrow bands on top jaw, a single row on lower; preopercular margin with a few spines at angle, lowest spine longest, and points down; top corner of gill opening notched; gill rakers long and slender, 22-24; dorsal fin deeply notched between spines and rays X-XI+I, 19-23; anal fin II, 9 (8-10), second spine thin, shorter than first ray; tail fin straight or slightly pointed; scales rough on body, smooth on head; lower half of soft dorsal and soft anal scaled; pored lateral-line scales 45-50; the lateral line extends to the center of the end of the tail fin.

Silvery, greenish or bluish above, bright silvery to yellowish on belly; no stripes; lower fins dusky to yellowish.

Size: reaches 25 cm.

Inhabits inshore sand and mud bottoms, entering estuaries, sometimes into freshwater.

Depth: 5-40 m?

Cape Cod to western Gulf of Mexico.