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Species: Citharichthys macrops, Spotted Whiff

All Families:   All Genera:   All Species:

body deep
between eyes: narrrow + bony ridge
D 79-82; A 59-63
body & fins: dense, regularly arranged spots
top jaw 39-44% head
edge blind-side operculum: leaf-like cirri
LL straight

Citharichthys macrops Dresel, 1885

Spotted Whiff

Body a relatively deep (50-53% of SL) oval; eyes on left side, close-set, separated by a long, narrow, concave ridge; mouth medium length (upper jaw 39-44% of head length), ends under lower eye; teeth ~equally developed on both sides of jaws, in 1 series of fixed teeth on each jaw, front teeth enlarged, no canines; edge of operculum on blind side with many leaf-like cirri; gill rakers long and slender, 5-6 + 13-16; 79-82 dorsal fin rays; anal fin 59-63 rays; pectoral fins on both sides of body, with branched rays; pelvics symmetrically positioned on belly, base of eye-side fin on body midline, short bases, fin with 6 rays; tail fin bluntly pointed; urinary papilla on blind side, immediately behind anus; lateral line well developed on both sides, eye-side line ~straight, from edge of opercle to tail base; no branch under lower eye; scales smooth to weakly rough, 37-44 on lateral line.

Pale yellowish brown; body and fins heavily covered with regularly arranged spots and blotches; often a pair of dark spots near the base of the tail fin.

Reaches 20 cm.

Lives on hard sand bottoms, typically found on marine beaches, rarely in estuaries.

Depth range: 1-100 m.

Chesapeake Bay to Brazil.


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Salinity
  • Marine
  • Marine Only
Inshore/Offshore
  • Inshore
  • Inshore Only
Water Column Position
  • Bottom
Habitat
  • Sand & gravel
  • Soft bottom (mud/sand/gravel/beach/estuary/mangrove/seagrass)
  • Soft bottom only
  • Mud
FishBase Habitat
  • Demersal
Feeding Group
  • Carnivore
  • Data
Diet
  • Data
  • Mobile benthic crustacea (shrimps/crabs)
Egg Type
  • Data
  • Pelagic
  • Pelagic larva
Global Endemism
  • All species
  • Greater Caribbean non-endemic
  • West Atlantic Endemic
Regional Endemism
  • Also in Brazil
  • Continent
  • Continent + Island (s)
  • Continental primarily
  • Extends N + S of GC
  • Extends North of GC
  • Extends South of GC
  • GC non-endemic
  • Island (s)
  • All species
Residency
  • Resident
Climate Zone
  • Equatorial (0-10N, Costa Rica / Venezuela)
  • Subtropical (23-35N, Florida / Carolinas / Bermuda)
  • Tropical (10-23N, Nicaragua / Cuba)
IUCN Red List
  • Least concern
  • Listed
CITES
  • Not listed
Length Max
  • 20
Depth Range Min
  • 1
Depth Range Max
  • 100