Silver Drum, Larimus argenteus

Silver Drum, Larimus argenteus. Fish caught from coastal waters off Mazatlán, Sinaloa, October 2016. Length: 41 cm (16 inches). Catch courtesy of Michael Ells, Big Rapids, Michigan. Photograph and identification courtesy of George Brinkman, Guelph, Ontario, Canada.

The Silver Drum, Larimus argenteus, is a member of the Croaker or Sciaenidae Family, and is known in Mexico as boquinete chato. Globally, there 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 Silver Drum has a robust and strongly compressed body with a humped back. They are silvery grayish-blue with a dark spot at their pectoral fin base. Their fins are clear with a faint tinge of yellow. Their head is short and compressed with a short snout, very large eyes, and a very vertical mouth that ends before the eyes and is equipped with a single row of minute teeth on each jaw. They do not have a chin barbel. The margin of their gill covers is smooth. Their anal fin has 2 spines and 6 rays with the second spine being stout and slightly shorter than the first ray; their caudal fin ends in an angular point; their first dorsal fin has 10 spines; their second dorsal fin has 1 spine and 27 to 29 rays; their pectoral fins are long and reach the anus; and, their pelvic fins are long. They have 23 to 26 long slender gill rakers. They are covered with rough scales.

The Silver Drum is a demersal species that is found over sandy bottoms along the shore at depths up to 50 m (165 feet). They are known to enter estuaries. They reach a maximum of 52 cm (20 inches) in length. They feed on planktonic crustaceans. The Silver 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.

In Mexican waters the Silver Drum is a resident of the Pacific but has a limited range being found from Magdalena Bay, Baja California Sur, southward along the southwest coast of Baja and along the central and southern coasts of the mainland from the central Gulf south to Guatemala.

The Silver Drum is most likely confused with the Pacific Drum, Larimus pacificus (oblique mouth; rounded caudal fin; 31 to 33 gill rakers), the Shining Drum, Larimus effulgens (oblique mouth; silvery red color; 26 to 31 gill rakers), and the Steeplined Drum, Larimus acclivis (oblique mouth; oblique lines above lateral line; straight lines below lateral line).

From a conservation perspective the Silver Drum is currently considered to be of Least Concern with stable, widely distributed populations. They are caught by artisanal fishermen and as a by-catch of shrimp trawlers and sold commercially in local markets within their range.