Yelloweye Croaker

Yelloweye Croaker, Odontoscion xanthops

Yelloweye Croaker, Odontoscion xanthops. Fish caught from coastal water off Mazatlán, Sinaloa, October 2017. Length: 15.5 cm (6.1 inches). Catch and photograph courtesy of Josh Leisen (joshadventures.com), Gaylord, Michigan.

Yelloweye Croaker, Odontoscion xanthops. Fish caught from coastal water off Mazatlán, Sinaloa, October 2017. Length: 18.0 cm (7.1 inches). Catch and photograph courtesy of George Brinkman, Guelph, Ontario, Canada.

Yelloweye Croaker, Odontoscion xanthops. Fish caught from shore at Km 21, Cabo Real, Baja California Sur, June 2021. Length: 20 cm (7.9 inches).

The Yelloweye Croaker, Odontoscion xanthops, is a member of the Croaker or Sciaenidae Family, and is known in Mexico as corvineta ojiamarillo. Globally, there are three species in the genus Odontoscion, of which two are found in Mexican waters, one in the Atlantic and one, this species, the Pacific Ocean.

The Yelloweye Croaker has a short oblong compressed body. They have a silvery coloration with brownish tinges. Their sides have narrow longitudinal brown stripes that become oblique mid-fish above the lateral line. Their anal and pelvic fins are black and their caudal and second dorsal fins are yellow. Their head has a conical snout with a large slightly oblique mouth equipped with a pair of large canines in front, a projecting lower jaw, large eyes, and a small knob on the tip of their jaw. Their eye length is about the same length as the eye diameter. They do not have a chin barbel. They have 5 pores on their chin. Their anal fin has 2 spines and 8 or 9 rays with the longest ray being longer than the second spine; their caudal fin is straight or slightly rounded; their first dorsal fin has 11 spines; and, their second dorsal fin has 1 spine and 25 to 27 rays. They have 21 to 23 gill rakers. They are covered with rough scales.

The Yelloweye Croaker is found within rocky areas, coastal reefs, and estuaries at depths up to 30 m (100 feet). They reach a maximum of 30 cm (12 inches) in length. The Yelloweye Croaker is poorly studied with very limited information available about their lifestyle and behavioral patterns including specific details on age, growth, longevity, movement patterns, diet, habitat use, and reproduction.

The Yelloweye Croaker is a resident of Mexican waters of the Pacific Ocean but has a limited distribution being found only around the tip of Baja, Baja California Sur, and along the coast of the mainland from Mazatlán, Sinaloa, south to Guatemala.

The Yelloweye Croaker is very similar in size and shape to the Longfin Salema, Xenichthys xanti (6 to 7 orange-brown stripes along sides), the Salema, Haemulon californiensis (6 to 8 orange-brown stripes on upper two-thirds of body), and the Vacuoqua Croaker, Corvula macrops (eye >> snout length).

From a conservation perspective the Yelloweye Croaker is currently considered to be of Least Concern with stable, widely distributed populations. They are rare, small in stature and an insignificant catch and are limited interest to most.