pompano

Any of several species of deep-bodied, toothless, silvery fishes in the order Perciformes (especially in the genus Trachinotus, family Carangidae) inhabiting warm coastal waters worldwide. Some are highly prized as food. Pompanos have small scales, a narrow tail base, and a forked tail. The Florida, or common, pompano (T. carolinus), of the U.S. Atlantic and Gulf coasts, is about 18 in. (45 cm) long and weighs about 2 lbs (1 kg). The African pompano, or threadfish (Alectis crinitis), of the Atlantic and eastern Pacific, is 35 in. (90 cm) long and has long, threadlike rays extending from the dorsal and anal fins. The Pacific pompano (Peprilus simillimus) is in the family Stromateidae.

pompano (pŏm'pənō), common name for fishes of the genus Trachinotus, and for Palometus simillimus, members of a large and important family of mackerellike fishes, abundant in warm seas around the world. They have deeply forked tails set on thin stalks and swim swiftly, often with the dorsal fin above the water surface. Most of the 200 species are valuable food fishes.

Types of Pompanos

Of the 30 genera that constitute the family, the 6 most important are the leather jacks, the amberfishes, the cavallas or jacks, the moonfishes, the casabes, and the pompanos.

Best known of the leather jacks is the pilot fish, a slender variety rarely over 2 ft (60 cm) long. Pilot fish, Naucrates ductor, often follow ships and sharks, feeding on the scraps left behind. Another species also called pilot fish is an amberfish. The amberfish genus, Seriola, (whose members are also called amberjacks and coronados) contains often beautifully colored fish that are of moderate to large size. The genus includes the streamlined California yellowtail, a popular game and food fish, weighing up to 40 lb (18 kg). Amberjacks are common off the Florida coast. They are grayish purple on the back and golden on the sides, and average 12 lb (5.4 kg) in weight, though specimens may reach 100 lb (45 kg). They prefer deeper water and feed on smaller fishes, as does the rainbow runner, strikingly colored in blue, yellow, and silver. Others of this group are the mackerel scad and the saurel, 2 ft (60 cm) food fish of commercial importance in San Francisco.

Most abundant and valuable of the cavallas (genus Caranx) is the crevalle, or common jack, C. hippos, found in dense schools on both coasts of tropical America and as far north as Cape Cod and the Gulf of California. Crevalles have olive backs, silvery and yellow sides, and reach 2 ft (61 cm) in length and 40 lb (18 kg) in weight. The kingfish, or king cero, is an important food and game cavalla of tropical Atlantic waters. The blue runner, or hard-tailed jack, 1 ft (30 cm) long and 1 lb (.45 kg) in weight and found from Brazil to Cape Cod, is an important food fish in the West Indies. The horse-eye jack is found in both the Atlantic and the Pacific. It is most abundant in the tropics, where its flesh is reputed to be poisonous. The Cuban jack, or African pompano, averaging 2 ft (61 cm) in length and 12 lb (5.4 kg) in weight, is a beautiful fish with an iridescent silvery sheen, similar in coloration and in its compressed, angular body to the moonfishes, silvery marine fishes of the genus Vomer.

Two moonfishes are the lookdown and the silvery moonfish. Both average from 7 to 9 in. (17.5-22.5 cm) in length and ¹/₂ lb (.25 kg) in weight and are important food fishes. They frequent sandy bottoms, feeding on small fish, crustaceans, and marine worms. The lookdown differs from the moonfish in its elongated dorsal and anal fins and in its rainbow iridescence. The casabe, or bumper, a smaller fish (up to 1 ft/30 cm) found from Brazil to Cape Cod, is of little value as food.

Commercially the most important of the family are the pompanos, species of which are among the most delicious of all food fishes. Prized as a food and game fish, the common pompano, found from the Carolinas to Texas, reaches a maximum length of 18 in. (45 cm) and weight of 8 lb (3.6 kg). It prefers sandy bottoms and feeds on small crustaceans, especially shrimps and sand fleas. A warm-water fish, it migrates to avoid cold, and an unseasonal cold spell will kill it. Of similar habits and distribution are the round pompano, named for its shape, and the gaff-topsail pompano, or palometa, a beautiful fish with a cerulean blue back and silvery yellow sides. Its counterpart in Pacific waters is the pompanito. The permit, or great pompano, of the Florida reefs is the largest of the family, weighing up to 30 lb (13.5 kg) and reaching a length of 3 ft (91 cm).

Classification

Pompanos are classified in the phylum Chordata, subphylum Vertebrata, class Osteichthyes, order Perciformes, family Carangidae.