Drums

Drums are so named for their ability to make drumming sounds with their swim bladder. Actually, many fishes are capable of making sounds, from squeaks to growls, although not all Drums can "drum". Kingfish lack a swim bladder but still vocalize by grinding their pharyngeal (throat) teeth.


Northern Kingfish

Menticirrhus saxatilis

Profile by
Heather Corbett
Assistant Fisheries Biologist

The Northern kingfish, Menticirrhus saxatilis, is popular with many saltwater anglers, and it's no wonder. These fish are known to put up a good fight, and their tasty, white meat is well worth the effort.


Weakfish

Cynoscion regalis

Profile by John McClain Principal Fisheries Biologist

The Weakfish is a member of the croaker family. The family name is derived from the ability of the males to make a drumming or croaking noise.


Atlantic Croaker

Micropogonias undulatus

Profile by John McClain, Principal Fisheries Biologist

The croaker is a member of the Sciaenidae, or drum family, which includes the black drum and weakfish. Their name comes from the sound they can make by vibrating their swim bladders.


Spot

Leiostomus xanthurus

Size
to 14"
seldom that big

Habitat
Shallow coastal waters, bays, estuaries.

Description
These diminutive drums form an important fishery, both commercial and recreational.


Portuguese Man-O-War

Siphonophores are free-floating or swimming colonial hydroids. All siphonophores are predatory and should be treated with respect for their venomous sting. Some of the individual animals along the length of the colony provide tentacles for defense (dactylozooids) and food capture, while others may function as swimming bells (nectophores), aid flotation (pneumatophore), provide additional defense (bracts), digest prey (gastrozooids), or serve for reproductive functions (gonozooids.) Whether siphonophores are single individuals or colonies of well-integrated polymorphic hydroid and medusoid individuals is a matter of debate among specialists.

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