Southern kingcroaker (Menticirrhus americanus) is a saltwater, brackish species recorded in the United States.
Scientific name: Menticirrhus americanus · Water: Saltwater, Brackish
Size: up to 50 cm
The southern kingcroaker is a demersal sciaenid that inhabits coastal waters, usually over sandy-mud to hard sand bottoms, and it is common along beaches, with juveniles usually occurring in water of lower salinity. It also enters brackish water. Its range is the western Atlantic, from Cape Cod to northern Argentina. Maximum length is about 50 cm total length, commonly about 30 cm, and it matures at about 17.7 cm. It is a commercial species and a gamefish, with a medium price category. Fishing vulnerability is moderate at 38 of 100 and resilience medium. IUCN lists it as least concern.
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