Spottail pinfish

The spottail pinfish (Diplodus holbrookii) is an ocean-going species of fish in the family Sparidae. It is also known as the spottail seabream or spottail pinkish porgy. Along with other members of their family, spottail pinfish are occasionally eaten and considered by some to be a panfish.

Distribution

Spottail pinfish are exclusive to the western Atlantic Ocean. They can be found from the Chesapeake Bay to southern Florida. Spottail pinfish are also known from the northern Gulf of Mexico, but are not known from the West Indies. There are only questionable reports from Cuba.

Spottail pinfish are common to shallow waters (only as deep as 28 metres or 92 feet) near coasts, such as bays and harbors, though only rarely in brackish areas. They prefer flat, vegetated bottoms such as beds of sea grass, where they feed on a mixture of plants (such as Thalassia) and small invertebrates.

Behaviour

Spottail pinfish school in small numbers, but generally mix with many other species such as the porkfish, gray snapper, bluestriped grunt, sailor's grunt, and the bucktooth parrotfish.

This species is thought to spawn offshore, in rather shallow seas, during the winter or early spring. Breeding likely takes place just annually lasting for only around two months. Fish in breeding condition have been measured from 12.9 cm (5.1 in) and the gonads develop in the months leading up to spawning.