Shining Drum, Larimus effulgens
Shining Drum, Larimus effulgens. Fish caught from within the coastal waters of Magdalena Bay, Baja California Sur, May 2017. Length: 22.0 cm (8.7 inches).
The Shining Drum, Larimus effulgens, is a member of the Croaker or Sciaenidae Family, and is known in Mexico as boquinete boca de novia. Globally, there are seven species in the genus Larimus, of which five are found in Mexican waters, one in the Atlantic and four in the Pacific Ocean.
The Shining Drums has a short, oblong, compressed body with a humped back. They are silvery-gray dorsally with a dark pectoral axis and yellow anal, caudal, pectoral, and pelvic fins. Their short, compressed head has a short snout and moderately-sized eyes and a very oblique mouth that ends before the center of the eyes and is equipped with 1 or 2 rows of small sharp teeth and a projecting lower jaw. There are 2 minute pores on the tip of their chin and 5 pores on their snout. They do not have a chin barbel. The margin of their gill covers is smooth. Their anal fin has 2 spines, with the second spine being stout and slightly longer than the first ray, with 6 rays; their caudal fin is pointed; their first dorsal fin has 10 spines, a notch, and the second dorsal fin has 1 spine and 28 to 30 rays; and, their pectoral fins are long reaching beyond the pelvic fins and the anus. They are covered with rough scales.
The Shining Drum is a pelagic demersal species that is found over sandy bottoms along the shore and coastal lagoons at depths up to 76 m (250 feet). They reach a maximum of 30 cm (12 inches) in length. They feed on planktonic crustaceans, pelagic fish larvae, small fish and zooplankton. Reproduction is oviparous with pelagic eggs and larvae. The Shining Drum 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 Shining Drum is a resident of Mexican waters of the Pacific Ocean but has a limited distribution being found from Magdalena Bay, Baja California Sur, southward along the west coast of Baja, from La Paz, Baja California Sur, southward along the east coast of Baja, and from the central Sea of Cortez southward to Guatemala along the west coast of the mainland.
The Shining Drum is similar in appearance and can be confused with the Pacific Drum, Larimus pacificus (31 to 33 gill rakers; black caudal fin), the Silver Drum, Larimus argenteus (23 to 26 gill rakers; vertical mouth), and the Steeplined Drum, Larimus acclivis (oblique lines above lateral line).
From a conservation perspective the Shining Drum is currently considered to be of Least Concern with stable, widely distributed populations. They are is caught as a by-catch of other fisheries and sold commercially at a minor level in some portions of their range.