| Photo - click to enlarge | Scientific name |
Common name |
Comments |
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Oligoplites saurus | Leatherjack | Common inshore, this small member of the jack family ranges from Massachusetts to Brazil. It is a fast, voracious predator and is common both in bays and the Gulf. Be careful of its spines. Although small, they can inflict considerable pain. |
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Opisthonema oglinum | Atlantic thread herring | Occurring in vast schools, these fish are plankton eaters like other members of the herring family. In turn they are fodder for larger fish. They range from Cape Cod to Brazil including the Gulf and Caribbean Sea. The elongated, hairlike last dorsal ray distinguishes it from the similar scaled sardine. |
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Opsanus beta | Gulf toadfish | Common in Gulf grass beds and open bottom. A stealth feeder. Can survive low oxygen water. |
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Orthopristis chrysoptera | Pigfish | |
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Paralicthys albigutta | Gulf flounder | A left-eyed flounder that will grow to ten inches or longer. The three black spots forming a triangle is a good species indicator. |
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Poecilia latipinna, male | Sailfin molly | This little algae eater can prosper in fresh, brackish or salty water of varying clarity and oxygen contest. From above you can see the male flash an iridescent blue dorsal surface. Raise the male's dorsal fin and you will understand where the "sailfin" appellation originated. |
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Poecilia latipinna, female | Sailfin molly |