Biology:Mojarra

Short description: Family of fishes

Mojarra
Gerres equulus
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Perciformes
Superfamily:	Percoidea
Family:	Gerreidae Bleeker, 1859
Genera
See text.

The mojarras are a family, Gerreidae, of fish in the order Perciformes. 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 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 seven genera currently assigned to this family are:

• †Aspesiperca Bannikov 2008 (only known from fossil remains)
• †Gerreidarum (only known from fossilized otolith remains)
• Deckertichthys Vergara-Solana, 2014
• Diapterus Ranzani, 1842
• Eucinostomus Baird & Girard, 1855
• Eugerres Jordan & Evermann, 1927
• Gerres Quoy & Gaimard, 1824
• Parequula Steindachner, 1879
• Pentaprion Bleeker, 1850
• Ulaema Jordan & Evermann 1895

Timeline

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See also

• Silver biddy

References

• Sepkoski, Jack (2002). "A compendium of fossil marine animal genera". Bulletins of American Paleontology 364: 560. http://strata.ummp.lsa.umich.edu/jack/showgenera.php?taxon=611&rank=class. Retrieved 2011-05-19. 

Wikidata ☰ Q1140406 entry