Species: Cynoscion virescens, Green Weakfish

inside mouth orange

pectoral > pelvic
Cynoscion virescens (Cuvier in Cuvier & Valenciennes, 1830)
Green weakfish
Elongate, fusiform, compressed, oval cross-section; head low, not spongy on top; eye moderate; mouth large, oblique, lower jaw slightly projecting; teeth in multiple rows with 1-2 large canines at tip of upper jaw, inner row of teeth on lower jaw widely spaced, enlarged, increasing in size to rear; gill rakers long 7-11; no pores or barbels on chin; 2 pores on side of snout; margin of preopercle smooth; top corner of gill opening notched; dorsal rays X + I, 27-31; anal rays II, weak spines, 8-9; pectoral fins slightly > pelvic fins; rear margin of tail pointed in juvenile, with asymmetric blunt point in adult; scales small, all smooth,~140 transverse rows above lateral line; body scales smaller than lateral line scales; soft dorsal with 1-2 rows of small scales along its base; lateral line arched anteriorly and straight well before level of anus, extends to the center of the end of the tail fin.
Body uniform grey above, silvery below; upper sides sometimes with tiny dark dots; edge of spinous dorsal black; soft dorsal with dark dots along each ray; pectorals, pelvics, anal fins yellowish to orangish; tail fin dusky; inside mouth orange.
Size: reaches 95 cm.
Inhabits sand and mud bottoms in coastal areas near river mouths; juveniles in estuaries.
Depth: 6-70 m.
Honduras to Brazil.

High Resolution Map Download
- Salinity
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- Marine
- Brackish
- Inshore/Offshore
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- Inshore Only
- Inshore
- Water Column Position
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- Bottom
- Habitat
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- Sand & gravel
- Mud
- Soft bottom only
- Soft bottom (mud/sand/gravel/beach/estuary/mangrove/seagrass)
- Estuary
- FishBase Habitat
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- Demersal
- Feeding Group
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- Data
- Carnivore
- Diet
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- Data
- Mobile benthic crustacea (shrimps/crabs)
- Bony fishes
- Egg Type
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- Data
- Pelagic larva
- Pelagic
- Global Endemism
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- West Atlantic Endemic
- Greater Caribbean non-endemic
- All species
- Regional Endemism
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- Continent only
- All species
- Continent
- GC non-endemic
- Extends South of GC
- Also in Brazil
- Residency
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- Resident
- Climate Zone
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- Tropical (10-23N, Nicaragua / Cuba)
- Equatorial (0-10N, Costa Rica / Venezuela)
- IUCN Red List
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- Least concern
- Listed
- CITES
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- Not listed
- Length Max
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- 95
- Depth Range Min
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- 6
- Depth Range Max
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- 70