''Cheilotrema'' 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 ...

es belonging 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 and croakers. These fishes are found in the eastern Pacific Ocean.

Taxonomy

''Cheilotrema'' was first proposed as a

monospecific genus In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unispe ...

in 1861 by the Swiss naturalist and

explorer Exploration refers to the historical practice of discovering remote lands. It is studied by geographers and historians. Two major eras of exploration occurred in human history: one of convergence, and one of divergence. The first, covering most ...

Johann Jakob von Tschudi. Tschudi was describing a new species from Peru, ''Cheilotrema fasciatum'', and created the new genus for it. ''Cheilotrema'' belongs to the family Sciaenidae in the

order Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood * Heterarchy, a system of organization wherein the elements have the potential to be ranked a number of ...

Acanthuriformes Acanthuriformes is an order of ray-finned fishes, part of the Percomorpha clade. Some authorities place the fishes in the order within the Acanthuriformes in the suborders Acanthuroidea and Percoidea of the order Perciformes. Classification T ...

Etymology

''Cheilotrema'' combines ''cheilos'', meaning "lip", with ''trema'', which means "pore", an allusion to the obvious pores on the upper lip of ''C. fasciatum''.

Species

''Cheilotrema'' has two recognised species classified within it: * '' Cheilotrema fasciatum'' Tschudi, 1864 (Arnillo drum, Burro) * '' Cheilotrema saturnum'' ( Girard, 1858) (Black croaker)

Characteristics

''Cheilotrema'' croakers have deep, oblong shaped bodies with a sloped head and pointed snout. The mouth is just below the snout and there are 5 pores on the chin but no

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 ...

s. The

preoperculum This glossary of ichthyology is a list of definitions of terms and concepts used in ichthyology, the study of fishes. A B C ...

may have either a serrated or smooth margin. 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 ...

has a deep incision dividing it and there are 10 spines to the front of the incision and a single spine and between 24 and 28 soft rays to its rear. The short anal spine is supported by 2 spines, the second spine being robust and equal in length to the first soft rays, and between 6 and 9 soft rays. The

pectoral fin Fins are distinctive anatomical features composed of bony spines or rays protruding from the body of a fish. They are covered with skin and joined together either in a webbed fashion, as seen in most bony fish, or similar to a flipper, as ...

s are short and the

caudal fin Fins are distinctive anatomical features composed of bony spines or rays protruding from the body of a fish. They are covered with skin and joined together either in a webbed fashion, as seen in most bony fish, or similar to a flipper, as s ...

is truncate> the body is covered in

ctenoid scale 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 w ...

s apart from around the eyes where there are

cycloid scale 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 w ...

s. The inner third of the soft rayed part of the dorsal fin and the inner three quarters of the anal fin are scaled. The largest species is the black croaker (''C. saturnum'') 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 while that of the Arnillo drum (''C. fasciatum'') is .

Distribution and habitat

''Cheilotrema'' croakers are found in the eastern Pacific Ocean, the black croaker is found off western North America off

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...

south to southern

Baja California Baja California (; 'Lower California'), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California), is a state in Mexico. It is the northernmost and westernmost of the 32 federal entities of Mex ...

and in the northern

Gulf of California The Gulf of California ( es, Golfo de California), also known as the Sea of Cortés (''Mar de Cortés'') or Sea of Cortez, or less commonly as the Vermilion Sea (''Mar Bermejo''), is a marginal sea of the Pacific Ocean that separates the Baja C ...

. The arnillo drum is found off the western coast of South America from northern Peru to Chile, and around the Galapagos Islands of Ecuador. The black croaker is a demersal fish that is frequently observed in caves and crevices of exposed coasts and open bays in California down to depths of . The allopatric population which inhabits the northern Gulf of California is found over sandy/muddy bottoms. The arnillo drum is described as a sublittoral, demersal fish inhabiting cool waters.

Conservation status

''Cheilotrema'' croakers are classified by the IUCN, the black croaker is classified as

Least Concern A least-concern species is a species that has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as evaluated as not being a focus of species conservation because the specific species is still plentiful in the wild. Th ...

, although the population in the Gulf of California is threatened by being taken is

bycatch Bycatch (or by-catch), in the fishing industry, is a fish or other marine species that is caught unintentionally while fishing for specific species or sizes of wildlife. Bycatch is either the wrong species, the wrong sex, or is undersized or juven ...

in the shrimp trawl and gillnet fisheries there, and there is no information about fisheries for the arnillo drum so it is classified as

Data Deficient A data deficient (DD) species is one which has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as offering insufficient information for a proper assessment of conservation status to be made. This does not necessarily ...

References

{{taxonbar, from=Q2962149 Sciaenidae Taxa named by Johann Jakob von Tschudi