Genus: Stellifer, Stardrum Croaker, Stardrums

STELLIFER

STARDRUMS

Body oblong, more or less compressed; head large, low and broad, skull cavernous, translucent, spongy to touch; wide between eyes; mouth moderate, horizontal to oblique; chin with 4-6 pores, no barbels; snout with 8 pores; preopercle usually with 1 or more bony spines at its angle, at least weakly serrated; gill rakers long and slender; top corner of gill opening notched; deep notch between spiny and soft parts of dorsal fin; anal fin with short base II, 8-13, 2nd spine variable in length and thickness; scales mainly rough on body, mainly smooth on head; soft dorsal and anal fins covered with smooth scales; the lateral line extends to the center of the end of the tail fin.

A tropical new world genus of 24 species, which occurs in eastern Pacific and western Atlantic, with 13 members in the Greater Caribbean: 7 endemics, 5 SW Atlantic and 1 NW Atlantic.