Species: Menticirrhus panamensis, Panama kingfish, Panama king-croaker
Menticirrhus panamensis (Steindachner, 1875)
Panama kingfish, Panama king-croaker
Body elongate, rounded in cross-section, belly flat; head long, low; snout ~ conical, projecting beyond horizontal mouth; eye small; 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, 3-8; preopercle weakly serrated; dorsal rays IX-X + I, 18-22, spines reaching past origin of soft dorsal; anal rays I, 8-9, spine weak; pectoral reaching past end of pelvics; tail S shaped; scales of head and body rough, scales on breast ~ same size as those on upper body; soft dorsal and anal fins without scaly sheath; pored lateral-line scales 52-55.
Color dusky silver, greyish brown on upper back; head brownish; fins dusky, except pectorals jet black and pelvics whitish; lower lobe of tail fin blackish.
Size: grows to 75 cm.
Inhabits coastal waters, including bays and off sandy beaches.
Depth: 1-20 m?
Southern Baja and the eastern Gulf of California to central Chile.
High Resolution Map Download
- Salinity
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- Brackish
- Marine
- Inshore/Offshore
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- Inshore
- Inshore Only
- Water Column Position
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- Bottom only
- Bottom
- Habitat
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- Estuary
- Soft bottom (mud/sand/gravel/beach/estuary/mangrove/seagrass)
- Beach
- Sand & gravel
- Mud
- Soft bottom only
- FishBase Habitat
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- Bentho-Pelagic
- Feeding Group
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- Carnivore
- Data
- Diet
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- Mobile benthic crustacea (shrimps/crabs)
- Data
- Mobile benthic gastropods/bivalves
- Mobile benthic worms
- Egg Type
-
- Pelagic
- No data
- Pelagic larva
- Global Endemism
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- East Pacific endemic
- All species
- Tropical Eastern Pacific (TEP) endemic
- Regional Endemism
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- TEP endemic
- 3 provinces (Cortez + Mexican + Panamic) endemic
- Continent only
- Continental TEP endemic
- All species
- Continent
- Residency
-
- Resident
- Climate Zone
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- Northern Subtropical (Cortez Province + Sinaloan Gap)
- North Temperate (Californian Province &/or Northern Gulf of California)
- Equatorial (Costa Rica to Ecuador + Galapagos, Clipperton, Cocos, Malpelo)
- Northern Tropical (Mexican Province to Nicaragua + Revillagigedos)
- South Temperate (Peruvian Province )
- IUCN Red List
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- Least concern
- Listed
- CITES
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- Not listed
- Length Max
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- 75
- Depth Range Min
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- 1
- Depth Range Max
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- 20
