Cottonmouth jack

Adult cottonmouth jack are usually dark in color, while juveniles are pale with six or seven brown, vertical bars along their sides.Smith-Vaniz, W.F., 1986. Carangidae. p. 638–661. In M.M. Smith and P.C. Heemstra (eds.) Smiths' sea fishes. Springer-Verlag, Berlin. They are named "cottonmouth" because they are distinguished from other members of their family by their bleach-white mouth and tongue.{{cite web|url=http://www.amonline.net.au/fishes/fishfacts/fish/usecunda.htm|title=amonline.net.au|accessdate=2008-02-20|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080315012320/http://www.amonline.net.au/fishes/fishfacts/fish/usecunda.htm|archive-date=2008-03-15|url-status=dead}} The cottonmouth jack's dorsal fin has a total of nine spines and twenty seven to thirty two soft rays. The anal fin has only three spines and nineteen to twenty three soft rays.

The longest known cottonmouth jack measured 50 cm Robins, C.R. and G.C. Ray, 1986. A field guide to Atlantic coast fishes of North America. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, U.S.A. 354 p. and the greatest published weight was 2.04 kg.GFA, 2001. Database of IGFA angling records until 2001. IGFA, Fort Lauderdale, USA.

The cottonmouth jack is pelagic and found throughout many oceansRiede, K., 2004. Global register of migratory species - from global to regional scales. Final Report of the R&D-Projekt 808 05 081. Federal Agency for Nature Conservation, Bonn, Germany. 329 p.{{clarify|date=December 2009|p.329?}} at depths from {{convert|1|to|36|m|ft|abbr=on}}.{{FishBase|Uraspis|secunda|month=August|year=2019}} In the Western Indian Ocean, they are found off the coast of Tanzania,Smith-Vaniz, W.F., 1984. Carangidae. In W. Fischer and G. Bianchi (eds.) FAO species identification sheets for fishery purposes. Western Indian Ocean fishing area 51. Vol. 1. [pag. var.]. FAO, Rome.Smith-Vaniz, W.F., 1986. Carangidae. pp.638–661. In M.M. Smith and P.C. Heemstra (eds.) Smiths' sea fishes. Springer-Verlag, Berlin. in the Eastern Pacific Ocean, they are known from California to Costa RicaEschmeyer, W.N., E.S. Herald and H. Hammann, 1983. A field guide to Pacific coast fishes of North America. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, U.S.A. 336 p.{{clarify|date=December 2009|p.336}} and Hawaii. In the western Atlantic, cottonmouth jack are found off Massachusetts to Brazil. They are also known from the northern Gulf of Mexico. In the eastern Atlantic, Cottonmouth jack are known from Mauritania to AngolaSmith-Vaniz, W.F., J.C. Quéro and M. Desoutter, 1990. Carangidae. p. 729–755. In J.C. Quero, J.C. Hureau, C. Karrer, A. Post and L. Saldanha (eds.) Check-list of the fishes of the eastern tropical Atlantic (CLOFETA). JNICT, Lisbon; SEI, Paris; and UNESCO, Paris. Vol. 2. and have also been found off the western coast of South Africa

Cottonmouth jack usually swim throughout the water column but they are occasionally seen feeding on the bottom near islands. They do not live in large numbers and are usually seen as individuals or in small schools.Eschmeyer, W.N., E.S. Herald and H. Hammann, 1983. A field guide to Pacific coast fishes of North America. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, U.S.A. 336 p.{{clarify|date=December 2009|p.336?}}

File:Cottonmouth jack.jPG| A Cottonmouth jack caught off Key West.

File:Uraspis secunda 2.JPG|Another from off the coast of Sri Lanka.

File:Uraspis secunda, Fiji.jpg| From the waters near Fiji.

{{Reflist|2}}

• http://www.fishbase.org/summary/SpeciesSummary.php?id=1012
• https://web.archive.org/web/20080315012320/http://www.amonline.net.au/fishes/fishfacts/fish/usecunda.htm
• {{SealifePhotos|159658}}

{{Taxonbar|from=Q2177499}}

cottonmouth jack

Category:Fish of the Atlantic Ocean

Category:Fish of Hawaii

Category:Western North American coastal fauna

cottonmouth jack