Order Perciformes Superfamily Percoidea Scientific name Umbrina Rank Genus | Suborder Percoidei Higher classification Drums | |
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Similar Drums, Yellowfin croaker, Umbrina canariensis, Sciaena, Perciformes | ||
Umbrina is a genus of fish from the croaker family Sciaenidae. The genus contains 17 species occurring in tropical and warm temperate waters of the Atlantic, the Mediterranean, the Western Indian Ocean and the eastern Pacific.
Contents
Features
The species of the genus Umbrina are elongated, laterally compressed fishes with a rounded belly. The head is lower than the relatively high back. The mouth is small and set below the midline with a short, there is a short, stocky barbel on the chin with a pore at the end and two pores om wither side of the base. The eye is medium-sized and the diameter is a quarter of the length of the head. The teeth sit in two rows per jaw, of which the outer is larger in the upper jaw. The edge of the scales are finely serrated. The body is dark brown or silver-colored and has opaque stripes or vertical bars. The first dorsal fin is short and has ten thin hard rays. The second, long spine has 25 to 30 soft rays. The small anal fin has two hard and five to eight soft rays.
Species
Currently, 17 species are recognized in the genus:
Etymology
The name of the genus, Umbrina, is derived from the Latin umbra, meaning a shadow or phantom, referring to the fish's rapid movements.
