Silver Stardrum, Stellifer illecebrosus

Silver Stardrum, Stellifer illecebrosus. Fish caught from coastal waters off Mazatlán, Sinaloa, March 2016. Length: 18 cm (7.1 inches). Catch, photograph and identification courtesy of Eli (obsessiveangling.wordpress.com).

The Silver Stardrum, Stellifer illecebrosus, is a member of the Croaker or Sciaenidae Family, that is also known as the Charcoal Stardrum and in Mexico as corvinilla plateada. Globally, there are twenty-four species in the genus Stellifer, of which seven are found in Mexican waters, two in the Atlantic and five in the Pacific Ocean.

The Silver Stardrum has an elongated body with a high back that is moderately compressed. They are silvery bluish gray dorsally and transition to pale ventrally. Their anal, caudal, pectoral, and pelvic fins are yellow. Their dorsal fins are dusky. Their head is large, low and broad with a blunt snout and eyes that are set far apart, and an inferior slightly oblique mouth that is equipped teeth set in villiform bands with an overhanging upper jaw. Their chin has 6 pores, their snout has 8 pores and they do not have barbels. Their gill covers have 9 to 12 serrated spines. They have 17 to 21 long slender gill rakers. Their anal fin has 2 spines, the second of which is strong and two-thirds the length of the first ray, and 11 to 12 rays and a short base; their caudal fin has a short blunt point; their first dorsal fin has 10 or 11 spines; their second dorsal fin has 2 or 3 spines and 18 to 22 rays; and, their pelvic fins have a filament. They are covered with smooth scales.

The Silver Stardrum is a demersal species that is found over muddy. gravel and sandy bottoms in coastal areas and estuaries in mangrove and seagrass habitats at depths up to 30 m (100 feet). They reach a maximum of 25.0 cm (9.8 inches) in length. They feed on planktonic crustaceans, benthic invertebrates and marine worms. The Silver Stardrum  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 Silver Stardrum can be easily confused with Blinkard Croaker, Ophioscion imiceps (large mouth; square caudal fin), the Hollow Stardrum, Stellifer ericymba (9 anal fin rays; concave forehead), the Racer Croaker, Ophioscion typicus (pointed caudal fin; 22-26 gill rakers) and the Squint-eyed Croaker, Ophioscion strabo (7 anal fin rays; pointed caudal fin).

The Silver Stardrum is a resident of Mexican waters of the Pacific but has a limited distribution being found from along the West Coast of the mainland from the Central Sea of Cortez to Guatemala. They are very abundant in some parts of their range.

From a conservation perspective the Silver Stardrum is currently considered to be of Least Concern with stable, widely distributed populations. Although small in stature the Silver Stardrum is targeted by artisanal fishermen utilizing beach seines. They are also a frequent by-catch of the trawl fishery. They are sold in local markets and considered to be an excellent human food fish.