Teleostei (teleosts) >
Elopiformes (Tarpons and tenpounders) >
Elopidae (Tenpounders)
Etymology: Elops: Greek, ellops = a kind of serpent (Ref. 45335); smithi: Named for David G. Smith, Smithsonian Institution.
Eponymy: Dr David G Smith is an American ichthyologist who is a Museum Specialist at the Smithsonian Institution. [...] (Ref. 128868), visit book page.
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Marine; brackish; pelagic-neritic. Tropical
Western Atlantic: coasts of the Americas, the Bahamas, and the Caribbean islands.
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 44.0 cm male/unsexed; (Ref. 83481)
Short description
Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics
Dorsal soft rays (total): 24 - 27; Anal soft rays: 16 - 19; Vertebrae: 73 - 80. This species is distinguished from Elops saurus in the number of vertebrae 73-80 but usually 75-78 vs. 79-87, often 81-85, respectively (vs. E. senegalensis 67, E. machnata 63-64, and E. hawaiensis 68-70). This species has a lower gill raker count , 10-15 on lower limb of the first arch (vs. E. affinis 16-20 and E. lacerta 17-19) (Ref. 83481).
Body shape (shape guide): elongated.
Occurs in a wide range of salinities; mature adults and early-life history stages in offshore marine habitats and where spawning is presumed to occur; and transforming larvae and subadults in estuaries, as far up as the oligohaline zone, as well as hypersaline lagoons (Ref. 83481).
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
McBride, R.S., C.R. Rocha, R. Ruiz-Carus and B.W. Bowen, 2010. A new species of ladyfish, of the genus Elops (Elopiformes: Elopidae), from the western Atlantic Ocean. Zootaxa 2346:29-41. (Ref. 83481)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2025-2)
Threat to humans
Harmless
Human uses
Tools
Special reports
Download XML
Internet sources