The Gulf butterfish (''Peprilus burti'') is a fish species of the family

Stromateidae The family Stromateidae or butterfish contains 15 species of ray-finned fish in three genera. Butterfishes live in coastal waters off the Americas, western Africa and in the Indo-Pacific. The endemic New Zealand species '' Odax pullus'' is commo ...

found in the

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico () is an oceanic basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, mostly surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north, and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States; on the southw ...

and off the coast of the Eastern United States.Page, L.M., Espinosa-Perez, L.T. Findley, C.R. Gilbert, R.N. Lea, N.E. Mandrak, R.L. Mayden, and J.S. Nelson. 2013. Common and scientific names of the fishes from the United States, Canada, and Mexico, 7th edition. American Fishes Society, Special Publication 34, Bethesda Maryland.

Description

This species is distinguished by the following characters: oval body, deep (its depth less than 2.5 times in total length) and strongly compressed; eyes surrounded by a small area of adipose tissue; short and blunt snout, lower jaw projecting somewhat beyond upper; small mouth, tip of maxillary not reaching below eye margin; very small teeth in jaws, in one row while those in the upper jaw flattened and with three tiny cusps; very long dorsal and anal fin bases (about equal in length), elevated anterior fin rays, but fins not falcate, and both fins preceded by three short, weak, spines; deeply forked caudal fin; long pectoral fins (longer than head) and pointed; absent pelvic fins; distinct series of 17 to 25 pores along anterior half of body under the dorsal fin; high lateral line, following dorsal profile; small scales, present also on cheeks; caudal vertebrae 16 to 18; pale blue body color above, silvery below (fading after death), no spots.Haedrich, R.L., 2003. Stromateidae. Butterfishes (harvestfishes). p. 1879-1884. In K.E. Carpenter (ed.) FAO species identification guide for fishery purposes. The living marine resources of the Western Central Atlantic. Vol. 3: Bony fishes part 2 (Opistognathidae to Molidae), sea turtles and marine mammals.

Diet

Adults feed on jellyfish, small fish, crustaceans, and worms; the juveniles are plankton and jellyfish feeders.

Habitat

Gulf butterfish form large loose schools across the continental shelf over sand/mud bottoms; depth ranges from 2 to 275 m at least, but are most abundant at 155 to 225 m. They are found near the bottom during the day, and migrate into the water column at night. Juveniles are often found under floating weeds and with jellyfish.

Reproduction and life cycle

Gulf butterfish mature within one year and rarely live past two years; spawning takes place at discrete intervals twice a year slightly offshore.

Distribution

The Gulf butterfish inhabits the Western Atlantic Ocean, including the entire

from the

Tampa Tampa ( ) is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. Tampa's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and t ...

region in

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

, USA to Yucatan in Mexico. It also occurs on the eastern seaboard from

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

to northeastern Florida, USA.

Importance to humans

The Gulf butterfish is highly esteemed for food. It is marketed fresh or frozen, and caught mainly with otter trawls.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2763665 Gulf butterfish Fish of the Gulf of Mexico Taxa named by Henry Weed Fowler Gulf butterfish