Graceful Mojarra, Eucinostomus gracilis
Graceful Mojarra, Eucinostomus gracilis. Fish caught from coastal waters off Point Palmilla, Baja California Sur, January 2013. Length: 15.5 cm (6.1 inches).
The Graceful Mojarra, Eucinostomus gracilis, is a member of the Mojarra or Gerreidae Family, and is known in Mexico as mojarra charrita. Globally, there are eleven species in the genus Eucinostomus, and all eleven are found in Mexican waters, seven in the Atlantic and four in the Pacific Ocean.
The Graceful Mojarra has a very slender body with a depth that is 25% to 29% of standard length, a key to identification. They are silver in color and without distinguishing marks. Their head has a straight upper profile and a concave lower profile, their mouth is highly extensible, pointing downward when protruded, and their snout is pointed. They have smooth gill covers. Their anal fin has 3 spines, with the second spine being shorter than the third spine and only slightly more robust, and 7 rays; their caudal fin is deeply forked; their dorsal fin has 9 spines and 10 rays and is elevated at the front; their pectoral fins are pointed and do not reach the anal fin origin; and, their pelvic fins are short. Their head and body are covered with rough scales. Their lateral line is straight.
The Graceful Mojarra reside in shallow coastal areas including mangrove estuaries and freshwater lagoons at depths up to 111 m (365 feet). They reach a maximum of 24 cm (9.4 inches) in length. The Graceful Mojarra 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 Graceful Mojarra is a resident of all Mexican waters of the Pacific Ocean with the exception that they are absent from Guerrero Negro, Baja California, northward along the central and northwest coasts of Baja.
The Graceful Mojarra can be confused with the Darkspot Mojarra, Eucinostomus entomelas (black gill chamber; second anal spine being the longest; dorsal fin with narrow black margin; long pectoral fins), the Golden Mojarra, Diapterus aureolus (separated dorsal fins with the first having a black tip), and the Pacific Spotfin Mojarra, Eucinostomus dowii (second anal spine being the strongest).
From a conservation perspective the Graceful Mojarra is currently considered to be of Least Concern with stable, widely distributed populations. They are small in stature and too rare to be of interest to most.
NOTE. There are eighteen members of the Mojarra or Gerreidae Family currently Included in this website, ten are from Mexican waters of the Pacific and eight from the Atlantic. They are all very similar in appearance and difficult to identify. As an aide to this challenge I have assembled a Mojarra Body Depth Chart that presents these seventeen mojarras from thin bodied to deep bodied which is useful in identification work. In addition, I have also assembled a Mojarra Maximum Length Chart which I have also helpful in the identification work for these eighteen mojarras. Both charts can be found at the end of the Mojarra Family Page.