Sheepshead (fish)
| Sheepshead | |
|---|---|
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Perciformes |
| Family: | Sparidae |
| Genus: | Archosargus |
| Species: | A. probatocephalus |
| Binomial name | |
| Archosargus probatocephalus Walbaum, 1792 |
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- See also: California sheephead (Semicossyphus pulcher) and Freshwater drum (Aplodinotus grunniens).
The sheepshead, Archosargus probatocephalus, is a marine fish that grows to 30 in (760 mm), but commonly reaches 10 to 20 in. It is deep and compressed in body shape, with 5 to 6 dark bars on the side of the body over a gray background. It has sharp dorsal spines. Its diet consists of oysters, clams, and other bivalves, and barnacles, fiddler crabs, and other crustaceans.[citation needed] It has a hard mouth, with several rows of stubby teeth, which help crush prey.[citation needed]
[edit] Fishing
Although the Sheepshead Bay section of Brooklyn, in New York City, was named after the fish,[citation needed] it is almost entirely a southern species: its range extends from the Mid-Atlantic to Texas.[citation needed] As sheepshead feed on bivalves & crustaceans,[citation needed] successful baits include shrimp, sand fleas (molecrabs), clams, fiddler crabs, and mussels.[citation needed] Sheepshead have a knack for stealing bait, so a small hook is necessary.[citation needed] Locating sheepshead in a boat is not difficult: fishermen look for rocky bottoms or places with obstructions, and they try around jetties and the pilings of bridges & piers.[citation needed] The average weight of a sheepshead is 3 to 4 pounds, but some individuals reach the range of 10 to 15 pounds.[citation needed] They are edible.
[edit] References
- Smithsonian Marine Station http://www.sms.si.edu/IRLSpec/Archos_probat.htm
- "Archosargus probatocephalus". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. http://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=169189. Retrieved 19 March 2006.
- Froese, Rainer, and Daniel Pauly, eds. (2005). "Archosargus probatocephalus" in FishBase. November 2005 version.
- Sheepshead, Texas Parks and Wildlife http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/huntwild/wild/species/sheepshead/
