''Cynoscion'' is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

of marine

ray-finned fish Actinopterygii (; ), members of which are known as ray-finned fish or actinopterygians, is a class of bony fish that comprise over 50% of living vertebrate species. They are so called because of their lightly built fins made of webbings of sk ...

es belonging to the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

, Sciaenidae, the drums and croakers. These fishes are found off the coasts of North and South America in the western Atlantic and eastern Pacific Oceans. Many fishes in this genus have been given the common name weakfish.

Taxonomy

''Cynoscion'' was first proposed as a monospecific genus in 1861 by the American biologist Theodore Gill with ''Johnnius regalis'', a species originally described in 1801 from New York by Marcis Elieser Bloch and Johann G. T. Schneider, designated as its

type species In International_Code_of_Zoological_Nomenclature, zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the spe ...

. This genus has been placed in the

subfamily In biological classification, a subfamily (Latin: ', plural ') is an auxiliary (intermediate) taxonomic rank, next below family but more inclusive than genus. Standard nomenclature rules end botanical subfamily names with "-oideae", and zo ...

Cynoscioninae by some workers, but the 5th edition of '' Fishes of the World'' does not recognise subfamilies within the Sciaenidae which it places in the order Acanthuriformes.

Etymology

''Cynoscion'' is a combination of ''cyno'', meaning "dog", a reference to the pair of canine-like teeth in the upper jaw, with ''scion'', the modern Greek name of '' Umbrina cirrosa'', which Gill preferred over ''sciaena'' because he did not like the sound of ''Cynosciaena''. The common name, weakfish, is a reference to the easily torn membrane in the mouth of ''C. regalis''.

Species

The genus consists of 25 species: * '' Cynoscion acoupa'' ( Lacépède, 1801) (Acoupa weakfish) * '' Cynoscion albus'' (Günther, 1864) (Whitefin weakfish) * '' Cynoscion analis'' ( Jenyns, 1842) (Peruvian weakfish) * '' Cynoscion arenarius'' ( Ginsburg, 1930) (Sand seatrout) * '' Cynoscion guatucupa'' (Cuvier, 1830) (Stripped weakfish) * '' Cynoscion jamaicensis'' ( Vaillant and Bocourt, 1883) (Jamaica weakfish) * '' Cynoscion leiarchus'' ( Cuvier, 1830) (Smooth weakfish) * '' Cynoscion microlepidotus'' (Cuvier, 1830) (Smallscale weakfish) * '' Cynoscion nannus'' ( Castro-Aguirre & Arvizu-Martinez, 1976) (Dwarf weakfish) * '' Cynoscion nebulosus'' (Cuvier, 1830) (Spotted seatrout) * '' Cynoscion nortoni'' ( Béarez, 2001) (Hake weakfish) * '' Cynoscion nothus'' ( Holbrook, 1848) (Silver seatrout) * '' Cynoscion othonopterus'' (Jordan and Gilbert, 1882) (Gulf weakfish) * '' Cynoscion parvipinnis'' ( Ayres, 1861) (Shortfin corvina) * '' Cynoscion phoxocephalus'' (Jordan and Gilbert, 1882) (Cachema weakfish) * '' Cynoscion praedatorius'' (Jordan and Gilbert, 1889) (Boccone weakfish) * '' Cynoscion regalis'' ( Bloch and Schneider, 1801)(Squeteague) * '' Cynoscion reticulatus'' (Günther, 1864) * '' Cynoscion similis'' ( Randall and Cervigón, 1968) (Tonkin weakfish) * '' Cynoscion squamipinnis'' (Günther, 1867) (Scalyfin corvina) * '' Cynoscion steindachneri'' (Jordan, 1889) (Smalltooth weakfish) * '' Cynoscion stolzmanni'' ( Steindachner, 1879) (Yellowtail corvina) * '' Cynoscion striatus'' (Cuvier, 1829) (Striped weakfish) * '' Cynoscion virescens'' (Cuvier, 1830) (Green weakfish) * '' Cynoscion xanthulus'' Jordan & Gilbert, 1882 (Orangemouth weakfish) '' FishBase'' treats ''C. striatus'' as a valid species but the '' Catalog of Fishes'' states that this is a '' nomen oblitum'' and is in the synonymy of ''C. guatucupa''.

Characteristics

''Cynoscion'' weakfishes have an elongate, torpedo-shaped body which is compressed to give it an oval cross-section. The head is low, with the crown being firm to the touch rather than spongy with moderately sized eyes and a large oblique mouth. There is a pair of large, pointed canine-like teeth in the front of the upper jaw. There are no barbels or pores on the chin. The preoperculum is smooth and not serrated and the top corner of gill slit is incised. The dorsal fin is long based and is deeply incised with between seven and nine thin spines and between 20 and 30 soft rays. The

anal fin Fins are moving appendages protruding from the body of fish that interact with water to generate thrust and help the fish swim. Apart from the tail or caudal fin, fish fins have no direct connection with the back bone and are supported o ...

is supported by two small spines, less than half the length of the first anal fin ray, and 7 to 13 soft rays. They have large scales, ctenoid on the body and cycloid on the head. The lateral line reaches to the middle of the end of the caudal fin. The largest species in the genus are ''C. albus'' which has a maximum published total length of and ''C. xanthulus'' at while the smallest is ''C. nannus'' reaching .

Distribution

''Cynoscion'' weakfishes are found off the Americas in the eastern Pacific and western Atlantic Oceans being found in tropical and warm temperate waters.

References

{{Authority control Taxa named by Theodore Gill