Centropomus undecimalis
| Common snook | |
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Perciformes |
| Family: | Centropomidae |
| Genus: | Centropomus |
| Species: | C. undecimalis |
| Binomial name | |
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Centropomus undecimalis (Bloch, 1792) |
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The common snook (Centropomus undecimalis) is a species of marine fish in the family Centropomidae of the order Perciformes. The common snook is also known as the sergeant fish or robalo. It was originally assigned to the sciaenid genus Sciaena; Sciaena undecimradiatus and Centropomus undecimradiatus are obsolete synonyms for the species.
One of the largest snooks, Centropomus undecimalis grows to a maximum overall length of 140 centimetres (4.6 ft) but common length is 50 centimetres (1.6 ft).The IGFA world record is 24.32 kg (53 lb 10 oz) caught in Parismina Ranch, Costa Rica by a woman named Rafael Montalvo. Of typical centropomid form, it possesses drab coloration except for a distinctive black lateral line. It can also possess bright yellow pelvic and caudal fins, especially during spawn.
Centropumis undecimalis is a protandric hermaphrodite fish species. The common snook’s spawning season appears to span the months of April to October, with the peak spawning occurring during the months of July and August. Spawning typically occurs in near-shore waters with high salinities. Following the spawning period, the juveniles will then migrate to the brackish waters of the nearby estuarine environments. When these juveniles mature they will then return to the higher salinity waters of the open ocean to join the breeding population.
The common snook is an estuarine-dependent fish species. Within estuaries, juvenile common snook are most often found inhabiting areas such as coastal wetland ponds, island networks, and creeks. Despite being a euryhaline species of fish, common snook do show a tendency to gravitate towards lower salinity conditions in the early stages of their life. By being able to adapt and thrive in both high and low salinity conditions through osmoregulation, common snook display a high level of habitat plasticity. Common snook are opportunistic predators whose feeding habits indicate that there is a positive relationship between their size and the size of their prey, meaning that as the snook grows it feeds on larger and larger prey. Common snook have been found to occasionally engage in cannibalistic activities, though this behavior is rare. This usually occurs during the winter months when adult and juvenile common snook are in close proximity to one another within their estuarine habitats. This form of cannibalism where the juveniles are fed on by the adults is referred to as intercohort cannibalism. The adult common snook who do cannibalize juveniles most likely target them due to the fact that the juveniles may be the largest of the available prey, and are therefore more nutritionally efficient to prey upon.
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Wikipedia