Diagnosis_Genus: Menticirrhus Gill. Body elongated, with the dorsal outline arched, very gradually descending from the dorsal to the snout, and slowly descending to the end of the second fin. Abdominal outline nearly straight. Head rather elongated, with the profile oblique, and before the eyes slightly arched. Snout convex and considerably protuberant. Eyes of moderate size, situated entirely in the anterior half of the head. Mouth horizontal and inferior. Supramaxillary bone ending nearly under the posterior border of the eye's pupil, chiefly concealed under the suborbitals. Preopercular margin finely denticulated. Lower jaw with a single barbel, with a pore in front, and with two lateral pores on each side. Teeth in both jaws villiform; in the upper one, the band of villiform ones is surrounded by a row of larger curved ones. Anterior dorsal fin sustained by ten or twelve spines, the third of which is frequently more or less prolonged. Anal fin generally with only one very slender spine. Caudal unequally lobed, with the inferior lobe convex and largest. Pectoral fins pointed and scaly at their bases. Ventral shorter and inserted much behind the pectoral. The teeth of the pharyngeal bones are elongated and conical. The setae of the first pair of ceratohyals are generally obliquely compressed and short. The dentiferous plates of the branchial arches are thick and ridge-like. The American Umbrinae form a very natural group, distinguished from the typical species by their elongated and very gradually tapering head, the more slender body, the more unequally emerginated caudal, the inferior insertion of the pectorals and their scaly bases, and the posterior origin of the ventrals, as well as the presence of only one very slender anal spine.

Diagnosis_Species: Cyprinus americanus Linnaeus. C. pinna ani radiis .., cirris plurimis. Catesb. car. 2. p. I2. t. I2. Alburnus americanus. Habitat in America. Pinna caudae indicisa.

Body_adults_common: 30 cm
Body_adults_max: 392-455 mm length: 192 mm (Harding & Chittenden, 1987)
Body_larvae_preflexion_length: 2.09-3.72 mm (Ditty, 1989)
Body_larvae_flexion_length: 3.72-4.56 mm (Ditty, 1989)
Body_egg_length: 0.76-0.92 mm (Hildebrand & Cable, 1934)
Body_juvenile_length: 150-220 mm (Gulf of Mexico) (Harding & Chittenden, 1987)
Body_6 months old_length: 138 mm (Harding & Chittenden, 1987)
Body_1_year_old_length: 192 mm (Harding & Chittenden, 1987)
Body_2_years_old_length: 272 mm (Harding & Chittenden, 1987)

Weight_max: 2.13 kg (Hildebrand & Cable, 1934)
Weight: 230 g (Hildebrand & Cable, 1934)
Sequence_16S rRNA: JX903977 (Santos et al. 2013)
Sequence_COI: JX904010 (Santos et al. 2013)
Sequence_TMO-4C4: JX904043 (Santos et al. 2013)