Teleostei (teleosts) >
Carangaria/misc (Various families in series Carangaria) >
Centropomidae (Snooks)
Etymology: Centropomus: Greek, kentron = sting + Greek, poma, -atos = cover, operculum (Ref. 45335).
More on author: Günther.
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Marine; freshwater; brackish; demersal. Tropical; 29°N - 6°S, 113°W - 76°W (Ref. 129711)
Eastern Pacific: southern Baja California, Mexico and mouth of the Gulf of California to Colombia and Peru.
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 123 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 40637); common length : 45.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 55763); max. published weight: 26.2 kg (Ref. 40637)
Body slender and not very deep; dorsal profile slightly concave behind the eyes; lateral line extending to posterior edge of caudal fin; second anal spine, when folded down, well removed from origin of caudal fin; pectoral and pelvic fins sub-equal; anal fin with 6 rays; back blue gray; belly white; lateral line very dark; fins charcoal gray (Ref. 55763).
Body shape (shape guide): fusiform / normal.
Adults enter mangrove areas and lagoons. Also occur in estuaries (Ref. 11035) and fresh water (Ref. 4537), as well as rustic ponds (Ref. 85798).
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
Bussing, W.A., 1995. Centropomidae. Róbalos. p. 987-995. In W. Fischer, F. Krupp, W. Schneider, C. Sommer, K.E. Carpenter and V. Niem (eds.) Guia FAO para Identification de Especies para lo Fines de la Pesca. Pacifico Centro-Oriental. 3 Vols. FAO, Rome. (Ref. 9284)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2025-2)
Threat to humans
Harmless
Human uses
Fisheries: commercial; gamefish: yes
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