The mojarras are a family, Gerreidae, of fish in the order
Perciformes
Perciformes (), also called the Acanthopteri, is an order or superorder of ray-finned fish in the clade Percomorpha. ''Perciformes'' means " perch-like". Among the well-known members of this group are perches and darters ( Percidae), and als ...
. The family includes about 53 species found worldwide in tropical and warm temperate regions. They mostly inhabit coastal salt and brackish waters, although some occur in fresh water.
Mojarras are a common prey and bait fish in many parts of the world, including the South American coast and Caribbean islands, as well as the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Coast of North America. These species tend to be difficult to identify in the field, and often require microscopic examination. Most species exhibit a schooling behavior and tend to exploit the shallow water Refugium (population biology), refugia associated with coastal areas presumably to avoid large-bodied predators, such as the lemon shark.
Mojarra is also commonly used in Latin American countries as a name for various species of the cichlid family, including tilapia.
Genera
The 10 genera currently assigned to this family are:
[
* ''Deckertichthys'' Vergara-Solana, 2014][Vergara-Solana, F.J., García-Rodriguez, F.J., Tavera, J.J., De Luna, E. & De La Cruz-Agüero, J. (2014): Molecular and morphometric systematics of ''Diapterus'' (Perciformes, Gerreidae). ''Zoologica Scripta, 43 (4): 338–350.'']
* ''Diapterus'' Camillo Ranzani, Ranzani, 1842
* ''Eucinostomus'' Spencer Fullerton Baird, Baird & Charles Frédéric Girard, Girard, 1855
* ''Eugerres'' David Starr Jordan, Jordan & Barton Warren Evermann, Evermann, 1927
* ''Gerres'' Jean René Constant Quoy, Quoy & Joseph Paul Gaimard, Gaimard, 1824
* ''Parequula'' Franz Steindachner, Steindachner, 1879
* ''Pentaprion'' Pieter Bleeker, Bleeker, 1850
* ''Ulaema'' Jordan & Evermann 1895
These fossil genera are also known:
Timeline
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See also
*Silver biddy
References
*
{{Taxonbar, from=Q1140406
Gerreidae