Lookdown, Selene vomer

Lookdown, Selene vomer. Fish caught off of Anglin’s Fishing Pier, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, April 2015. Length: 26 cm (10 inches). Catch, photograph and identification courtesy of Kenneth Tse, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Lookdown, Selene vomer. Fish caught off the Dunedin Causeway, Dunedin, Florida, September 2011. Length: 28 cm (11 inches). Catch, photograph, and identification courtesy of Ryan Crutchfield, Tampa, Florida.

The Lookdown, Selene vomer, is a member of the Jack or Carangidae Family, that is also known as the Atlantic Lookdown and in Mexico as jorobado penacho. Globally, there are nine species in the genus Selene, of which six are found in Mexican waters, three in the Atlantic and three in the Pacific Ocean.

The Lookdown has a strongly compressed very deep body that is 46% to 52% of standard length with similar upper and lower profiles. They are uniformly silver in color with a blue tint. The juveniles have black dorsal spines, a dark bar through the eye, and 4 to 5 broken bars on the body. Their head profile is very steep and straight, angular at top, steeply sloping to the mouth with a lower protruding jaw. Their mouth is oblique and ends well before the eyes. Their anal fin are exceedingly long with 2 standalone spines followed by 1 spine and 17 to 20 rays; their caudal fin has a slender base and is deeply forked; their first dorsal fin has 8 spines (with a very elongated front lobe); their second dorsal fin has 1 spine and 20 to 23 rays; their pectoral fins are long and curved; and their pelvic fins are short. They have 31 to 35 gill rakers. Their scutes are very small and poorly developed. Their body is covered with small scales.

The Lookdown is a pelagic schooling species is found demersally over sandy and hard substrate at depths up to 90 m (295 feet). They are found around bridges and pilings. Juveniles are found in estuaries and off sandy beaches. They reach a maximum of 48 cm (19 inches) in length and 2.15 kg (4 lbs 12 oz) in weight. As of January 1, 2024, the International Game Fish Association world record stood at 2.15 kg (4 lbs 12 oz) with the fish caught off Flamingo, Florida in March 2004. They consume crustaceans, fish and worms. The Lookdown 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 Lookdown is a resident of all Mexican waters of the Atlantic Ocean including the Gulf of Mexico and the east coast of the Yucatán Peninsula in the Caribbean.

The Lookdown can be confused with the Atlantic Moonfish, Selene setapinnis (36-42 gill rakers; short dorsal and pectoral fins) and the Caribbean Moonfish, Selene brownie (short dorsal and pectoral fins).

From a conservation perspective the Lookdown is currently considered to be of Least Concern with stable, widely distributed populations. They are caught as a bycatch of seines and trawls. They are also a focus of recreational anglers. They are also caught on occasion with large cast nets and sold as live bait fish targeting Dorado, Marlin and Yellowfin Tuna. They are considered an excellent food fish by locals and sold commercially.