Species: Stellifer punctatissimus, Spotted Croaker
blackish body & fins
preopercle 8-9 small teeth

LL 52-54
Stellifer punctatissimus Meek & Hildebrand, 1925
Spotted Croaker
Body oblong, robust, with humped back, maximum body depth 33-35% of SL; head low and short, cavernous but firm to touch on top; distance between eyes 9-9.6% SL; snout overhangs small, horizontal mouth; teeth on lower jaw simple, in bands; chin without barbel, with 5 pores; snout with 10-12 pores; preopercle with 8-9 teeth, those at angle not much enlarged; gill rakers 7-8 + 11-16, slender, longest is <1/2 length of gill filament at angle of gill arch; top corner of gill opening notched; dorsal rays X-XI + I, 22-25; anal rays II, 7 (rarely 8), 2nd spine short, about ½ length of 1st ray; pectoral fin 24.8-25.5% SL; tail fin long, bluntly pointed; scales on body and all or most of head rough; soft dorsal and anal fins with 1-2 rows of scales along their bases and small scales on membranes for 3/4 distance from base; the lateral line extends to the center of the end of the tail fin; lateral line pores 48-54
Dark grey, paler below, but with dark scale edges; fins dark grey to blackish; inside gill cover dark, visible from outside.
Size: grows to 25 cm.
Inhabits coastal waters on sandy mud bottoms, especially around beaches.
Depth: 1-50 m.
Belize to NE Brazil.

High Resolution Map Download
- Salinity
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- Marine
- Marine Only
- Inshore/Offshore
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- Inshore
- Inshore Only
- Water Column Position
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- Bottom
- Habitat
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- Sand & gravel
- Soft bottom (mud/sand/gravel/beach/estuary/mangrove/seagrass)
- Soft bottom only
- Beach
- Mud
- FishBase Habitat
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- Demersal
- Feeding Group
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- Carnivore
- Data
- Diet
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- Data
- Mobile benthic crustacea (shrimps/crabs)
- Mobile benthic worms
- Egg Type
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- Data
- Pelagic
- Pelagic larva
- Global Endemism
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- All species
- Greater Caribbean non-endemic
- West Atlantic Endemic
- Regional Endemism
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- Also in Brazil
- Continent
- Continent + Island (s)
- Continental primarily
- Extends South of GC
- GC non-endemic
- Island (s)
- All species
- Residency
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- Resident
- Climate Zone
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- Equatorial (0-10N, Costa Rica / Venezuela)
- Tropical (10-23N, Nicaragua / Cuba)
- IUCN Red List
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- Least concern
- Listed
- CITES
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- Not listed
- Length Max
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- 25
- Depth Range Min
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- 1
- Depth Range Max
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- 50