Inshore lizardfish
| Inshore Lizardfish | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Aulopiformes |
| Family: | Synodontidae |
| Genus: | Synodus |
| Species: | S. foetens |
| Binomial name | |
| Synodus foetens (Linnaeus, 1766) | |
The inshore lizardfish (Synodus foetens) inhabits the east coast of the Americas. They are a slender fish, growing to no more than 16 inches in length. The mouth is large and wide, the upper jaw extending beyond the eyes. The jaws contain many needle-like teeth, found as well as on the tongue and roof of the mouth. The snout is pointed. The dorsal body color is various shades of brown to olive, while the ventral color is typically yellow to white. Young fish have darkly mottled sides which fade as they mature.Inshore lizardfish are bottom-dwellers found over sand and mud in waters as deep as 15 fathoms (90 feet).
This lizardfish ranges from southern Massachusetts to Brazil, including the Gulf of Mexico, the Caribbean, the West Indies, and Bermuda. However, they are rarely seen north of North Carolina.
References
- Smithsonian Marine Station at Fort Pierce. Inshore Lizardfish. Retrieved on January 30, 2007.
- Froese, Rainer and Pauly, Daniel, eds. (2012). "Synodus foetens" in FishBase. April 2012 version.