Trachinotus carolinus

Super Group: 
Opisthokonta
Phylum: 
Chordata
Sub-Phylum: 
Vertebrata
Class: 
Actinopteri
Order: 
Perciformes
Sub-Order: 
Percoidei
Family: 
Carangidae
Genus: 
Trachinotus
Species: 
carolinus
Authority: 
Linnaeus 1766
Synonym(s): 
Gasterosteus carolinus (Linnaeus, 1766)

Diagnosis

Diagnosis_Genus: Trachinotus Lacepède. Two dorsal fins; no small fins above or below the tail; the sides of the tail raised longitudinally in keel, a small fin composed of two spikes and a membrane, in front of the anal fin; some spines hidden under the skin, in front of the dorsal fins.
Diagnosis_Species: Gasterosteus carolinus Linnaeus. G. spinis dorsalibus octo analibus tribus. D. 8-26. P. I8. V. 5. A. 9/27. C. 27.Habitat in Carolina. D. Garden. Crevalle. Corpus oblongo-ovatum, Linca lateralis recta ad caudam subcarinata. Pinna dorsalis analisque falcata. Cauda bifurca.
Trachinotus carolinus grows to 43 -63 cm (17 – 25 inches) in length.  The body profile is relatively short, deep, and moderately compressed.  Color is typically blue to greenish dorsally, fading to silver
laterally, with the ventral surface tending to be silvery to yellow in color.  There are no visible vertical bars on sides.  Fins are dusky or yellowish in color, particularly the anal fin, which can be lemon yellow in young specimens (Gilbert 1986). 

Body_adults_male_length: 40 cm
Body_max_length: 64 cm
Body_max_weight: 3.6 kg
Body_egg_lenght: 0.99 mm (Riley et al. 2009)
Sequence_BIN: AAB9493 (COI 655) (Brandao et al. 2016)

Etymology

Trachinotus: Greek, trachys, -eia, -ys = rough + Greek,noton = back.

Type species

The type species of the genus Trachinotus is Scomber falcatus (Forskal, 1775).

 

Type illustration / Type locality / Type specimen

Type locality: Carolina [South Carolina, U.S.A.].

Ecology

Habitat: Coastal
Habitat: Western Atlantic: Massachusetts, USA through the Gulf of Mexico and scattered localities in the West Indies to Brazil. Also found in Argentina. Absent from clear waters of Bahamas and similar islands.
Substrate: water
Sociability_adults: gregarious
Salinity: marine
Temperature: 17 – 32 ºC
Temperature_preferred: 28 – 32 ºC
Oxygen_level: oxic (stressed<3 ppm) (mortality = 2.5 ppm)
pH: Neutral (8.23-8.36)
Depth_max: Pelagic (60-75 m)
Migratory: Yes. Offshore migration (Weirich and Riley, 2008)
Causality_of_migration: sexual reproduction
Temporality_of_migration: seasonal (Summer, Gulf coast), (Atlantic, early spring), (Northwestregion: Escambia-Franklin counties, during April, with asecondary peak in August-September), (Big Bend region (Wakulla-Pascocounties, late summer), (Tampa Bayregion: Pinellas-Manatee counties, March-April and again in July-November), (southwest region (Sarasota-Collier counties, all year), (FloridaKeys region: Monroe county, December-February), (Atlantic coast,  Northeast: Nassau-Flaglercounties, in April), (East-central region: Volusia-Martincounties, November-January), (Southeastregion, winter and late spring) (Muller et al. 2002)

Life cycle

Reproduction_mode: sexual
Generation_time_male: 1 to 3 years (1 year)
Generation_time_female: 1 to 3 years (2-3 years)
Fecondity_number_of_eggs_per_adult: 133,000 – 800,000 eggs per season, depending on body size (Finucane 1969, 1970;  Moe et al. 1968). 
Fertility_period: Seasonal (From spring through late fall, with peaks from April – June and September – October (Gilbert 1986)), during January–August in Florida (Hood et al. 1999)
Spawning_method: External fertilization offshore

Feeding behaviour

Carnivorous

Mode of locomotion

Motility: motile_swimming

Reference(s)

Observation site(s)

SYMBIONTS

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Association with... Region origin Name of site In reference...
Amyloodinium ocellatum Gulf Coast Research Laboratory