Fish ID

Family Scombridae, MACKERELS AND TUNAS

Description: color of back green, shading to silver on sides, golden yellow irregular spots above and below lateral line; front of dorsal fin black; lateral line curves gently to base of tail.
Similar fish: cero, S. regalis; king mackerel,. cavalla.
Where found: INSHORE, NEARSHORE, and OFFSHORE, especially over deep grass beds and reefs; […]

Family Scombridae, MACKEREL AND TUNAS

Description: color of back iridescent bluish green; sides silvery; yellow spots forming lines above and below a bronze stripe from pectoral fin to base of the tail; front of first dorsal is bluish black; lateral line curves gradually to base of caudal fin.
Similar fish: Spanish mackerel, S. maculatus; king mackerel, S. […]

Family Scombridae, MACKERELS AND TUNAS

Description: color of back iridescent bluish green, sides silvery; streamlined body with tapered head; no black pigment on front of the first dorsal fin; lateral line starts high and drops sharply below the second dorsal fin; young fish often have yellowish spots like those of Spanish mackerel.
Similar fish: cero, S. regalis; […]

Family Sphyraenidae, BARRACUDAS

Description: gray, with a greenish cast above, whitish below; many irregular, small black blotches on lower side; 18 to 22 diagonal dark bars on upper side (not always evident); caudal fin dark with white tips; 75 to 87 lateral line scales; no fleshy tip on jaw. Young (not shown): dark stripe on side; […]

Family Engraulidae, ANCHOVIES

Description: body relatively deep; head short; snout very short, only slightly overhanging mouth; silvery stripe narrow, often faint or absent toward front; stripe fades after death; body grayish, with few melanophores above; dorsal fin far back – the only U.S. species in which that fin begins above or only very slightly in front […]

Family Engraulidae, ANCHOVIES

Description: snout length somewhat less than eye diameter; silver stripe on body narrow –width less than eye diameter or snout length throughout; back greenish; some yellowish about the head; melanophores outline all dorsal scales, especially those behind the dorsal fin; dorsal fin begins above a point well in front of anal fin, and […]

Family Gerreidae, MOJARRAS

Description: body dark olive above; tan to silvery on side, often with a metallic sheen; conspicuous blackish stripe along center of each scale row, except toward belly; all fins except pectoral fins dusky in large adults; and anal fins sometimes dark orange; pelvic spine and first 2 anal spines pale; dorsal and anal […]

Family Mugilidae, MULLETS

Description: color bluish-gray or green above, shading to silver on sides, with indistinct horizontal black barrings, white below; fins lightly scaled at base, unscaled above; blunt nose and small mouth; second dorsal fin originates behind that of the anal.
Similar fish: white mullet, M. curema; fantail mullet, M. gyrans (both white and fantail mullet […]

Family Mugilidae, MULLETS

Description: color olive green with blue tints on back, shading to silvery sides, white below; anal and pelvic fins yellowish; dark blotch at base of pectoral fin; inverted V-shaped mouth; insertion of second dorsal over that of the anal fin.
Similar fish: striped mullet, M. cephalus; white mullet, M. curmea (note difference in shape […]

Family Ephippidae, SPADEFISHES

Description: silvery with 4 to 6 black vertical bands on each side which sometimes become obscure in larger fish; deep, flattened body; separated first and second dorsal fins; concave caudal fin; anterior rays of second dorsal fin and anal fin elongated.
Similar fish: no close resemblance, but frequently and mistakenly called angelfish.
Where found: INSHORE […]