Species: Citharichthys spilopterus, Bay whiff
elongate oval
gill rakers 3-5 + 11-12
Citharichthys spilopterus Gunther, 1862
Bay whiff
Body a moderately elongate oval (usually <45% of SL); snout a little projecting, nape concave; eyes on left side, not large (<25% of head), close-set, only a narrow bony crest between them; lower head profile angular; mouth medium length ends under lower eye, top jaw 39-44% of head; teeth ~equally developed on both sides of jaws, fixed teeth in 1 series on each jaw, no canines; gill rakers long and slender, 3-5 + 11-12; edge of operculum on blind side without cirri; 76-84 dorsal fin rays, origin of fin before upper eye; anal fin 57-63 rays; pectoral fin on both sides of body, with branched rays; pelvic fins symmetrically positioned on belly, base of eye-side fin on body midline, short bases, 6 rays; 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 rough on eye side, smooth on blind side, 43-47 on lateral line.
Brown; with scattered pale and dark brown spots, sometimes a row of dark spots along inner half of dorsal and anal fins; a dark spot at end of tail base, near the tail fin.
Reaches 20 cm.
Lives on soft bottoms, in hypersaline and brackish water, estuarine dependent.
Depth range: 1-75 m.
New Jersey to S Brazil.
High Resolution Map Download
- Salinity
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- Marine
- Brackish
- Hypersaline
- Freshwater
- Inshore/Offshore
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- Inshore Only
- Inshore
- Water Column Position
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- Bottom
- Habitat
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- Mud
- Estuary
- Soft bottom only
- Freshwater
- Soft bottom (mud/sand/gravel/beach/estuary/mangrove/seagrass)
- Sand & gravel
- FishBase Habitat
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- Demersal
- Feeding Group
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- Data
- Carnivore
- Diet
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- Data
- Mobile benthic worms
- Mobile benthic crustacea (shrimps/crabs)
- Bony fishes
- Egg Type
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- Pelagic
- Pelagic larva
- Data
- Global Endemism
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- All species.
- West Atlantic Endemic
- Greater Caribbean non-endemic
- Regional Endemism
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- All species..
- Island (s)
- Continent
- Extends N + S of GC
- Extends North of GC
- GC non-endemic
- Extends South of GC
- Also in Brazil
- Continent + Island (s)
- Residency
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- Resident
- Climate Zone
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- Equatorial (0-10N, Costa Rica / Venezuela)
- Tropical (10-23N, Nicaragua / Cuba)
- Temperate (>35N)
- Subtropical (23-35N, Florida / Carolinas / Bermuda)
- IUCN Red List
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- Listed
- Least concern
- CITES
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- Not listed
- Length Max
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- 20
- Depth Range Min
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- 1
- Depth Range Max
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- 75
