Actinopterygii (ray-finned fishes) >
Perciformes (Perch-likes) >
Centropomidae (Snooks)
Etymology: Centropomus: Greek, kentron = sting + Greek, poma, -atos = cover, operculum (Ref. 45335).
Environment / Climate / Range
Ecology
Marine; freshwater; brackish; reef-associated; amphidromous (Ref. 51243); depth range ? - 22 m (Ref. 26912). Tropical; 25°C - 31°C (Ref. 36880); 29°N - 23°S
Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ?, range 42 - ? cm
Max length : 140 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 9710); common length : 50.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 3713); max. published weight: 24.3 kg (Ref. 4699); max. reported age: 7 years (Ref. 12193)
Western Atlantic: southern Florida (USA), southeastern coast of the Gulf of Mexico, most of the Antilles and Caribbean coast of Central and South America extending southward to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; also North Carolina and Texas, USA (Ref. 7251).
Inhabits coastal waters, estuaries and lagoons, penetrating into freshwater; usually at depths less than 20 m (Ref. 3713). Feeds on fishes (Gobiidae, Gerreidae, Engraulidae) and crustaceans (shrimps and crabs) (Ref. 35237). Congregates at mouths of passes and rivers during the spawning season, May through September (Ref. 3713). Seasonal movements into freshwater occur but poorly understood (Ref. 3713). Marketed fresh (Ref. 5712). Valued game fish and an excellent food fish (Ref. 26938). The world record for hook and line is a 53-lb., 10 ounce fish caught at Parismina Ranch, Costa Rica (Ref. 13442).
Robins, C.R. and G.C. Ray, 1986. A field guide to Atlantic coast fishes of North America. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, U.S.A. 354 p.
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 90363)
Threat to humans
Harmless
Human uses
Fisheries: commercial; aquaculture: commercial; gamefish: yes
More information
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Estimates of some properties based on empirical models
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref.
82805): PD
50 = 0.5005 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00825 (-0.10088 - 0.11739), b=2.96322 (2.89074 - 3.03571), based on LWR estimates for species & genus-BS (Ref.
93245).
Trophic Level (Ref.
69278): 4.4 ±0.8 se; Based on diet studies.
Resilience (Ref.
69278): Medium, minimum population doubling time 1.4 - 4.4 years (K=0.3-0.49; tm=4; tmax=7; Fec=3 million).
Vulnerability (Ref.
59153): Moderate to high vulnerability (46 of 100) .