''Menticirrhus'' is a genus of marine

ray-finned fish Actinopterygii (; ), members of which are known as ray-finned fishes, is a class of bony fish. They comprise over 50% of living vertebrate species. The ray-finned fishes are so called because their fins are webs of skin supported by bony or h ...

belonng to the

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

Sciaenidae Sciaenidae are a family of fish in the order Acanthuriformes. They are commonly called drums or croakers in reference to the repetitive throbbing or drumming sounds they make. The family consists of about 286 to 298 species in about 66 to 70 gene ...

, the drums or croakers. They are commonly known as kingcroakers or kingfish. These fish are found in the Western Atlantic and Eastern Pacific Oceans.

Taxonomy

''Menticirrhus'' was first proposed as a genus in 1861 by the American

biologist A biologist is a scientist who conducts research in biology. Biologists are interested in studying life on Earth, whether it is an individual Cell (biology), cell, a multicellular organism, or a Community (ecology), community of Biological inter ...

Theodore Gill Theodore Nicholas Gill (March 21, 1837 – September 25, 1914) was an American ichthyologist, mammalogist, malacologist and librarian. Career Born and educated in New York City under private tutors, Gill early showed interest in natural histo ...

with ''Perca alburnus'', a species described by Linnaeus in 1763 from Charleston, as its only species and designated as its

type species In zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the species that contains the biological type specime ...

. This genus has been placed in the subfamily Sciaeninae by some workers, but the 5th edition of '' Fishes of the World'' does not recognise subfamilies within the Sciaenidae which it places in the order Acanthuriformes.

Etymology

''Menticirrhus'' is a combination of ''mentum'', meaning "chin", and ''cirrhus'', which means

barbel Barbel may refer to: *Barbel (anatomy), a whisker-like organ near the mouth found in some fish (notably catfish, loaches and cyprinids) and turtles *Barbel (fish), a common name for certain species of fish **''Barbus barbus'', a species of cyprinid ...

, an allusion to the single thick barbel on the chin.

Species

''Menticirrhus'' contains the following species: *''

Menticirrhus americanus ''Menticirrhus americanus'', the southern kingfish, southern kingcroaker, king whiting, Carolina whiting, sea mullet, roundhead, or whiting, is a species of marine fish in the family Sciaenidae. It lives in shallow coastal waters on the western ...

'' (

Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (; 23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after his ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné Blunt (2004), p. 171. (), was a Swedish botanist, zoologist, taxonomist, and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the ...

, 1758) (Southern kingcroaker) *''

Menticirrhus elongatus ''Menticirrhus'' is a genus of marine ray-finned fish belonng to the family Sciaenidae, the drums or croakers. They are commonly known as kingcroakers or kingfish. These fish are found in the Western Atlantic and Eastern Pacific Oceans. Taxonomy ...

'' ( Günther, 1864) (Pacific kingcroaker) *''

Menticirrhus littoralis ''Menticirrhus'' is a genus of marine ray-finned fish belonng to the family Sciaenidae, the drums or croakers. They are commonly known as kingcroakers or kingfish. These fish are found in the Western Atlantic and Eastern Pacific Oceans. Taxonomy ...

'' (

Holbrook Holbrook may refer to: Places England *Holbrook, Derbyshire, a village * Holbrook, Somerset, a hamlet in Charlton Musgrove * Holbrook, Sheffield, South Yorkshire, a former mining village in Mosborough ward, now known as Halfway *Holbrook, Suffolk, ...

, 1847) (Gulf kingcroaker) *''

Menticirrhus nasus ''Menticirrhus'' is a genus of marine ray-finned fish belonng to the family Sciaenidae, the drums or croakers. They are commonly known as kingcroakers or kingfish. These fish are found in the Western Atlantic and Eastern Pacific Oceans. Taxonomy ...

'' (Günther, 1868) (Highfin king croaker) *''

Menticirrhus ophicephalus ''Menticirrhus'' is a genus of marine ray-finned fish belonng to the family Sciaenidae, the drums or croakers. They are commonly known as kingcroakers or kingfish. These fish are found in the Western Atlantic and Eastern Pacific Oceans. Taxonomy ...

'' ( Jenyns, 1840) (Snakehead kingcroaker) *''

Menticirrhus paitensis ''Menticirrhus'' is a genus of marine ray-finned fish belonng to the family Sciaenidae, the drums or croakers. They are commonly known as kingcroakers or kingfish. These fish are found in the Western Atlantic and Eastern Pacific Oceans. Taxonomy ...

Hildebrand Hildebrand is a character from Germanic heroic legend. ''Hildebrand'' is the modern German form of the name: in Old High German it is ''Hiltibrant'' and in Old Norse ''Hildibrandr''. The word ''hild'' means "battle" and ''brand'' means "sword". ...

, 1946 (Paita kingcroaker) *''

Menticirrhus panamensis ''Menticirrhus'' is a genus of marine ray-finned fish belonng to the family Sciaenidae, the drums or croakers. They are commonly known as kingcroakers or kingfish. These fish are found in the Western Atlantic and Eastern Pacific Oceans. Taxonomy ...

'' ( Steindachner, 1877) (Panama kingcroaker) *''

Menticirrhus saxatilis ''Menticirrhus saxatilis'', the northern kingfish or northern kingcroaker, is a species of marine fish in the family Sciaenidae (commonly known as the "drum" or "croaker" family). It lives in the shallow coastal waters of the western Atlantic Oc ...

'' ( Bloch & Schneider, 1801) (Northern kingfish) *'' Menticirrhus undulatus'' ( Girard, 1854) (California kingcroaker) Kingfish great south bay

Characteristics

''Menticirrhus'' kingfish have elongated bodies which have a rounded cross section and a flat underside. The head is long and low with a somewhat conical snout which protrudes past the horizontal mouth. There are slits and pores above the mouth with a short, stout barbel on the chin with a pore at its tip and a number of pores at its base. The preoperculum may be smooth or weakly serrated and the gill cover is incised at its angle. The

dorsal fin A dorsal fin is a fin located on the back of most marine and freshwater vertebrates within various taxa of the animal kingdom. Many species of animals possessing dorsal fins are not particularly closely related to each other, though through c ...

is supported by between 10 and 13 flexible sins and between 19 and 27 soft rays while the anal fin has a single weak spine and 7 to 9 soft rays. The scales are small and

ctenoid A fish scale is a small rigid plate that grows out of the skin of a fish. The skin of most jawed fishes is covered with these protective scales, which can also provide effective camouflage through the use of reflection and colouration, as ...

. The largest species in the genus is the California kingcroaker (''M. undulatus'') which has a maximum published

total length Fish measurement is the measuring of individual fish and various parts of their anatomies. These data are used in many areas of ichthyology, including taxonomy and fisheries biology. Overall length * Standard length (SL) is the length of a fish ...

of and the smallest is the Paita kingcroaker (''M. paitensis'') which has a maximum published total length pf .

Distribution

''Menticirrhus'' fishes are found in the eastern Pacific between California and Peru and in the western Atlantic from Massachusetts in the north to northern Argentina.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q135256 Sciaenidae Extant Miocene first appearances Ray-finned fish genera