Spotfin croaker

Spotfin croaker ( Roncador stearnsii )

The Spotfin Umber ( spotfin croaker, Roncador stearnsii ) is one of six species of croakers, which occur on the west coast of the United States. He is the only species of monotypic genus Roncador.

The scientific genus name Roncador, introduced by Jordan and Gilbert 1880 is similar to the English name of a croaker ( the catch) rough tones of imaging to animal; Roncador is the Spanish (not Latinized ) form of the Greek ρέγκων " snorer "; the species name honors the U.S. Fish collectors Silas Stearns (1859-1888) from Pensacola in Florida. Originally the fish was described as Corvina ( a now fully resolved genus ), is thus related with about Sciaena umbra (sea raven ).

Features

The Spotfin Umber is 70 cm long and almost 5 kg in weight - he is then about 15 years old. The black base of the pectoral fin is any of several similar ways of Augentarnung, see Eyespot Umber, White croaker, among others

Fins formula: D1 IX -X, D2 I / ~ 23, A II/10; Lateral-line scales: 63 No Bartel.

Habitat

The fish lives in small groups on the west coast of Baja California, north to about Santa Barbara on sandy soil to about 15 m depth, where at night he eats mainly hard-shelled benthic invertebrates such as clams, crabs and other crustaceans. During the day you can find him at rock, post, inlets, also quite the shallows.

He usually swims in smaller schools, there are large groups together in mating season. The eggs and larvae develop in pelagic and are spread by ocean currents.

Others

" Roncador " (such as " Croaker ", " queen Fish ", " drum ", etc.) were called and are also called several conventional and nuclear -powered submarines of the U.S. Navy (probably still applies analogously for similar vehicles of other nationalities ). This is expressed in -blurring a way that the engine noise to those produced by the fish in various ways " interfere ": for instance, by this ( allegedly) were used for camouflage. More details can not be brought about in secure experience, but at least that these fish (as well as many other animals ) are generally more and more disturbed by engine noise, has long been a truism ( noise pollution ).