Gerreidae Bleeker 1859

Angulo, Arturo, Betts, Joel T., González-Alemán, Néstor J., Castañeda, Edgar, Berghe, Eric Van Den, Elías, Diego J., Mcmahan, Caleb D. & Matamoros, Wilfredo A., 2023, Continental fishes of Nicaragua: diversity, distribution and conservation status; with an annotated and illustrated checklist of species and an identification guide to families, Zootaxa 5376 (1), pp. 1-89 : 70

Family Gerreidae Bleeker 1859 ( Fig. 5A ). Mojarras; Mojarras, Palmitas, Comearenas

Description: Body moderately deep to somewhat slender, compressed; up to 50 cm in length; lower profile of head distinctively concave; mouth highly extensible, pointing downward when protruded; jaws apparently toothless, but with tiny, brush-like teeth; no teeth on roof of the mouth; scales usually cycloid and often partially deciduous; dorsal fin with 9 or 10 spines and 9–17 soft rays; dorsal and anal fins fold into a high scaly sheath along their bases; caudal fin deeply forked ( Robertson & Allen 2015, Nelson et al. 2016). Distribution: Marine (occasionally brackish and rarely in freshwaters); Circumglobally in tropical to temperate areas ( Robertson & Allen 2015, Nelson et al. 2016). Four genera and fourteen species in Nicaraguan freshwaters.

Figures

FIGURE 5. Families of continental fishes of Nicaragua, part 4; Gerreidae (A), Haemulidae (B), Sciaenidae (C), Lobotidae (D), Ephippidae (E) and Tetraodontidae (F). Illustrations adapted (with permission) from Nelson et al. (2016) and Angulo et al. (2021).