Species: Menticirrhus ophicephalus, Snakehead king-croaker
breast scales v small
Menticirrhus ophicephalus (Jenyns, 1840)
Snakehead king-croaker
Body elongate, 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; 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, 6-9; preopercle weakly serrated; dorsal rays X-XI + I, 21-24, spines short, not reaching soft dorsal; anal rays I, 9, spine weak; pectoral 18-20, not reaching end of pelvics; tail concave, rounded tips; scales of head and body rough, scales on breast smooth, much smaller than those on body; soft dorsal and anal fins without basal scaly sheath; pored lateral-line scales 63-66.
Body and head pale silvery grey; dorsal dusky, spiny part darker; tail pale, broad dusky margin; anal dark grey, white front border; pectoral dark grey outer 2/3; pelvic dark grey, white front margin.
Size: 45 cm.
Habitat: coastal bays.
Depth: 1-20 m?
Ecuador to Chile.
High Resolution Map Download
- Salinity
-
- Marine Only
- Marine
- Inshore/Offshore
-
- Inshore Only
- Inshore
- Water Column Position
-
- Bottom only
- Bottom
- Habitat
-
- Sand & gravel
- Beach
- Mud
- Soft bottom (mud/sand/gravel/beach/estuary/mangrove/seagrass)
- Soft bottom only
- FishBase Habitat
-
- Demersal
- Feeding Group
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- Carnivore
- Data
- Diet
-
- Data
- Mobile benthic worms
- Mobile benthic crustacea (shrimps/crabs)
- Mobile benthic gastropods/bivalves
- Egg Type
-
- Pelagic
- No data
- Pelagic larva
- Global Endemism
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- TEP non-endemic
- East Pacific endemic
- All species
- Regional Endemism
-
- Continent
- Continent only
- Peruvian province, primarily
- Temperate Eastern Pacific, primarily
- All species
- Tropical Eastern Pacific (TEP) non-endemic
- Residency
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- Vagrant
- Climate Zone
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- South Temperate (Peruvian Province )
- Equatorial (Costa Rica to Ecuador + Galapagos, Clipperton, Cocos, Malpelo)
- IUCN Red List
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- Least concern
- Listed
- CITES
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- Not listed
- Length Max
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- 45
- Depth Range Min
-
- 1
- Depth Range Max
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- 20
