ABSTRACT
The family Centropomidae are euryhaline and diadromous, preferring mangrove-rimmed estuarine habitats, beaches, inlets, river mouths, inshore bays, nearshore reefs, salt marshes, sea grass meadows, and adjacent lakes (Gilmore et al. 1983, Rivas 1986, Orrell 2003). There is only one genus; Centropomus; and there are 6 species in the subtropical and tropical western North Atlantic (Table Centropomidae 1); Centropomus ensiferus (Poey 1860), Centropomus mexicanus (Bocourt 1868), Centropomus parallelus (Poey 1860), Centropomus pectinatus (Poey 1860), Centropomus poeyi (Chavez 1961), and Centropomus undecimalis (Bloch 1792). Where the range of centropomid taxa overlaps, Centropomus undecimalis are more abundant. The only families of fishes that are sympatric and similar to the Centropomidae are the Sciaenidae and the Serranidae. Their differences are: Sciaenidae have only 1-2 spines present in the anal fin, and in the Serranidae the lateral line does not extend to the hind margin of the caudal fin (Orrell 2003).
