Centropomus
genus of fishes
Centropomus is a genus of predominantly marine fish comprising the family Centropomidae. The type species is Centropomus undecimalis, the common snook. Commonly known as snooks or róbalos, the Centropomus species are native to tropical and subtropical waters of the western Atlantic and eastern Pacific Oceans.
Prior to 2004, the subfamily Latinae, which contained three genera, was placed within the Centropomidae; this has since been raised to the family level and renamed Latidae because a cladistic analysis showed the old Centropomidae to be paraphyletic. This has left Centropomus as the only remaining genus in this family. These are popular game and food fish.
Dating from the upper Cretaceous, the centropomids are of typical percoid shape, distinguished by having two-part dorsal fins, a lateral line that extends onto the tail, and frequently, a concave shape to the head. They range from 35 to 120 cm (14 to 47 in) in length and are found in tropical and subtropical waters.
The snook species range in maximum length from about 35 to 140 cm (1 ft 2 in to 4 ft 7 in), with maximum recorded weights of 1.0 – 26 kg (2.2 – 57 lb).
Occurring in a variety of habitats ranging from coral reefs to estuaries and mangrove swamps, the snooks are carnivorous, feeding primarily on crustaceans and other fishes.
The public source identifies “Centropomus” as genus of fishes. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Centropomus, genus and fishes.
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Datasets, specimens, observations and peer-reviewed methods provide the appropriate test for the technical claims summarized here. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 7, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q2140510. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 2004.
Current terminology should not be projected backward without checking the classification used when the underlying evidence was created. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
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This entry incorporates text from “Centropomus” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.