Yellowtail Corvina, Cynoscion stolzmanni

Yellowtail Corvina, Cynoscion stolzmanni. Fish caught from coastal waters off  Mazatlán, Sinaloa, October 2020. Length: 46 cm (18 inches). Catch, photograph and identification courtesy of Eli (obsessiveangling.wordpress.com).

Yellowtail Corvina, Cynoscion stolzmanni. Fish caught from coastal waters off Mazatlán, Sinaloa, October 2021. Length: 84 cm (2 feet 9 inches). Catch, photograph and identification courtesy of Bart, The Netherlands  (worldangler.eu).

Yellowtail Corvina, Cynoscion stolzmanni. Fish caught from coastal waters off  Mazatlán, Sinaloa, January 2012. Length: 90 cm (2 feet 11 inches). Photograph and identification courtesy of Jason Potts, Mazatlán.

The Yellowtail Corvina, Cynoscion stolzmanni, is a member of the Croaker or Sciaenidae Family, that is also known as Stolzmann’s Weakfish and in Mexico as corvina coliamarilla. Globally, there are twenty-four species in the genus Cynoscion, of which thirteen are found in Mexican waters, three in the Atlantic and ten in the Pacific Ocean.

The Yellowtail Corvina has an elongated fusiform compressed body with an oval cross-section. They have an overall silvery coloration with a steel blue hue on their upper back. The inside of their gill cover (operculum) and pectoral fin base are dark. They have a dark crescent behind the center of their lower teeth. Their soft dorsal fin has a dusky margin and all their fins are yellowish. Their head is conical with a straight upper profile except for being slightly concave over the eyes. Their mouth is strongly oblique and ends after the eyes. They have a prominent lower jaw and a pair of large pointed canine teeth on the front of the top jaw. The edge of their operculum is smooth and they do not have pores or barbels on their chin. Their anal fin has 2 spines and 8 or 9 rays; their caudal fin is “S” shaped; their dorsal first dorsal fin has 10 spines; their second dorsal fin has 19 to 21 rays with a long base; and, their pectoral fins are short and do not reach the tip of the pelvic fins. They have 8 or 9 gill rakers. Their body is covered with rough scales.

The Yellowtail Corvina is a demersal species that is found over sandy bottoms in estuaries, open bays, and coastal waters at depths up to 30 m (100 feet). They reach a maximum of 90 cm (3 feet 0 inches) in length. As of January 1, 2023, the International Game Fish Association world record stood at 9.52 kg (21 lbs 0 oz) with the fish caught in coastal waters off Mazatlán, Sinaloa in December 2000. They feed on small fish and shrimp. The Yellowtail Corvina 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 Yellowtail Corvina is a resident of Mexican waters of the Pacific Ocean but has a limited range being found in the mouth of the Sea of Cortez, Baja California Sur, and along the west coast of the mainland south to Guatemala.

The Yellowtail Corvina can be confused with the Orangemouth Corvina, Cynoscion xanthulus (orange inside mouth; blunt tail), the Queen Corvina, Cynoscion albus (yellow mouth; pectoral fins longer than pelvic fins), the Scalyfin Corvina, Cynoscion squamipinnis (7 or 8 dorsal spines; blunt tail), the Totoaba, Totoaba macdonaldi (23 to 25 dorsal rays), and the White Seabass, Atractoscion nobilis (wide gap between dorsal fins).

From a conservation perspective the Yellowtail Corvina is currently considered to be of Least Concern with stable, widely distributed populations. They are fished commercially in some locations. They are an important food fish in the majority of Central America countries.