Black Drum
Pogonias cromis
Silver Perch
Bairdiella chrysoura
About
The silver perch is a small, shimmering fish of shallow coastal water, common along the eastern coast of North America and a frequent catch for shore anglers hoping for something bigger.
Also known as: american silver perch, goldtail croaker
- Length
- 20 cm · max 30 cm
How to tell it apart
It looks much like the sand seatrout and silver seatrout, but those fish carry one or two sharp canine teeth at the tip of the upper jaw, while the silver perch does not and instead shows a lower jaw that juts out past the upper.
Appearance
It has a silvery body that looks greenish or bluish on top and silvery to yellowish underneath, with yellowish or greyish fins. Its mouth is fairly large and angled upward, and the lower jaw sticks out past the upper one.
Habitat
It lives inshore in seagrass beds, tidal creeks, rivers, and marshes, as well as over sandy and muddy bottoms in coastal water. It sometimes moves into brackish or fresh water in summer. Its range runs from New York to Mexico.
Did you know?
Its swim bladder has two chambers connected to the inner ear, giving it hearing about as sharp as a goldfish, a fish famous for its acute sense of sound.
Log it in Into the Blue
Describe what you saw and we name it, then keep every species you find in your Oceandex.
