Species: Menticirrhus elongatus, Pacific king-croaker, Slender kingfish, Slender king-croaker
soft D & A - scaled
breast scales v small
Menticirrhus elongatus (Günther, 1864)
Slender kingfish, Pacific king-croaker, Slender king-croaker
Body elongate, slender, rounded in cross-section, belly flat; head long, low; snout ~ conical, projecting beyond horizontal mouth; teeth villiform, no canines, outer row teeth of upper jaw scarcely enlarged if at all, molar teeth in throat; slits and pores above mouth; short thick barbel on chin with a pore at its point and several more at its base; gill rakers short, 7-10; preopercle weakly serrated; dorsal rays X + I, 22-24, 3rd spine reaches past origin of second dorsal; anal rays I, 7, spine weak; pectoral fins 19 (17-20), reaching beyond tips of depressed pelvic fins; tail margin S-shaped with pointed upper lobe; scales of head and body rough; scales on breast smooth, much smaller than scales on rest of body; inner ¾ of soft dorsal and anal fins with scaly sheath; pored lateral-line scales 49-60.
Silvery, greyish blue on upper back; dorsal and anal fins dusky.
Size: attains a length of 47 cm.
Inhabits coastal waters, frequently off sandy beaches.
Depth: 1-70 m.
Southern Baja California, most of the Gulf of California to Peru.
High Resolution Map Download
- Salinity
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- Brackish
- Marine
- Inshore/Offshore
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- Inshore
- Inshore Only
- Water Column Position
-
- Bottom
- Bottom only
- Habitat
-
- Soft bottom only
- Sand & gravel
- Estuary
- Beach
- Soft bottom (mud/sand/gravel/beach/estuary/mangrove/seagrass)
- FishBase Habitat
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- Demersal
- Feeding Group
-
- Data
- Carnivore
- Diet
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- Mobile benthic crustacea (shrimps/crabs)
- Mobile benthic worms
- Data
- Mobile benthic gastropods/bivalves
- Egg Type
-
- No data
- Pelagic
- Pelagic larva
- Global Endemism
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- All species
- East Pacific endemic
- Tropical Eastern Pacific (TEP) endemic
- Regional Endemism
-
- All species
- Continent only
- Continent
- 3 provinces (Cortez + Mexican + Panamic) endemic
- TEP endemic
- Continental TEP endemic
- Residency
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- Resident
- Climate Zone
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- North Temperate (Californian Province &/or Northern Gulf of California)
- Northern Tropical (Mexican Province to Nicaragua + Revillagigedos)
- Northern Subtropical (Cortez Province + Sinaloan Gap)
- Equatorial (Costa Rica to Ecuador + Galapagos, Clipperton, Cocos, Malpelo)
- South Temperate (Peruvian Province )
- IUCN Red List
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- Listed
- Least concern
- CITES
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- Not listed
- Length Max
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- 47
- Depth Range Min
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- 1
- Depth Range Max
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- 70
