Genus: Trachinotus, Pompano Jack, Pompanos

TRACHINOTUS

POMPANOS

Deep, compressed body; snout blunt to rounded; mouth reaches under eye; top jaw extendible; jaw teeth small, conical, curved, sometimes absent in large fish; adult with 21-28 gill rakers; dorsal fin with VI short, stout, semi-isolated spines (1st often imbedded) before main part of fin; dorsal & anal fins without isolated finlets behind; base of anal about same length as that of soft dorsal; pectoral fin < head length; tail base slender, without notches above & below; tail strongly forked; no scutes (hard, spiny scales) on lateral line; body scales oval.

A circumtropical genus with 20 species; there are 4 West Atlantic species in our region.