Species: Roncador stearnsii, Spotfin croaker

snout blunt, overhangs horizontal mouth

Roncador stearnsii (Steindachner, 1876)
Spotfin croaker
Body elongate, high; mouth under overhanging snout; snout with 10 pores; chin with 5 pores, no barbels; jaw teeth simple, in bands; throat with plates of heavy, molar-like teeth; 24-28 gill rakers; preopercle finely serrated; dorsal low, X + I, 24-28, deep notch between spiny and soft parts; anal with II spines, 2nd spine slender, ~ ¾ length 1st ray, 8; pectoral longer than pelvic; tail edge ~ straight; all scales rough; soft dorsal and anal without scales; 48-54 lateral line scales.
Blue grey to metallic grey above, sides brassy, belly pale silvery grey; sides with faint undulating lines along scale rows; pectoral fin with large black blotch on outer base, dark inner base; gill chamber blackish.
Size: 68.6 cm.
Habitat: demersal on sandy bottoms of bays, in surf zone, often near rocks.
Depth: 1-22 m.
California to the tip of Baja and the eastern Gulf of California.

High Resolution Map Download
- Salinity
-
- Marine Only
- Marine
- Inshore/Offshore
-
- Inshore Only
- Inshore
- Water Column Position
-
- Bottom
- Bottom only
- Habitat
-
- Reef associated (reef + edges-water column & soft bottom)
- Sand & gravel
- Soft bottom only
- 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 gastropods/bivalves
- Data
- Mobile benthic worms
- Mobile benthic crustacea (shrimps/crabs)
- Egg Type
-
- No data
- Pelagic
- Pelagic larva
- Global Endemism
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- TEP non-endemic
- East Pacific endemic
- All species
- Regional Endemism
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- Tropical Eastern Pacific (TEP) non-endemic
- Continent only
- All species
- California province, primarily
- Continent
- Temperate Eastern Pacific, primarily
- Residency
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- Vagrant
- Climate Zone
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- Northern Subtropical (Cortez Province + Sinaloan Gap)
- North Temperate (Californian Province &/or Northern Gulf of California)
- IUCN Red List
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- Least concern
- Listed
- CITES
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- Not listed
- Length Max
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- 68.6
- Depth Range Min
-
- 1
- Depth Range Max
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- 22