croaker
Cynoscion regalis (Bloch & Schneider, 1801)
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Weakfish Cynoscion regalis
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Open encyclopedia reference
Cynoscion regalis, the weakfish, is a marine ray-finned fish of the family Sciaenidae, the drums and croakers.
A medium-large, slender, marine fish, it is found along the east coast of North America. The head and back of this fish are dark brown in color with a greenish tinge. The sides have a faint silvery hue with dusky specks, and the belly is white. The origin of its name is based on the weakness of the mouth muscles, which often cause a hook to tear free, allowing the fish to escape. The weakfish grows to 1 m (3.3 ft) in length and 9 kg (20 lb) in weight. It is found along the eastern coast of North America from Nova Scotia, Canada to northern Florida, where it is fished both commercially and recreationally.
This species has become established in the Gulf of Cadiz in the eastern Atlantic. This introduced population was first noted in 2011 when a specimen misidentified as Cynoscion nebulosus was taken and there is now a well established population.
The weakfish is the state fish of Delaware.
Wikipedia contributors, Cynoscion regalis; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T02:28:21.817136+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Cynoscion regalis (Bloch & Schneider, 1801)
- Name authority
- (Bloch & Schneider, 1801)
- Common name
- croaker
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Teleostei
- Family
- Sciaenidae
- Genus
- Cynoscion
- Extinction status
- Not supplied by this source
Source habitat flags: Marine: yes · Freshwater: no · Terrestrial: no. These do not form a complete habitat description.
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- gigaclassActinopterygii
- superclassActinopteri
- classTeleostei
- familySciaenidae Cuvier, 1829
- genusCynoscion Gill, 1861
- speciesCynoscion regalis (Bloch & Schneider, 1801)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Cynoscion. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| sand seatroutCynoscion arenarius Ginsburg, 1930 | SciaenidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| shortfin corvinaCynoscion parvipinnis Ayres, 1861 | SciaenidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Cynoscion virescens (Cuvier, 1830) | SciaenidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| dwarf corvinaCynoscion nannus Castro-Aguirre & Arvizu-Martinez, 1976 | SciaenidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Cynoscion nortoni Béarez, 2001 | SciaenidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| sharpnose corvinaCynoscion phoxocephalus Jordan & Gilbert, 1882 | SciaenidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Cynoscion leiarchus (Cuvier, 1830) | SciaenidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Cynoscion analis (Jenyns, 1842) | SciaenidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Jamaica weakfishCynoscion jamaicensis (Vaillant & Bocourt, 1883) | SciaenidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| silver seatroutCynoscion nothus (Holbrook, 1848) | SciaenidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Cynoscion praedatorius (Jordan & Gilbert, 1889) | SciaenidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Labrus squeteague Mitchill, 1815 Mitchill, 1815 | synonym |
| Cestreus carolinensis Gronow, 1854 Gronow, 1854 | synonym |
| Johnius regalis Bloch & Schneider, 1801 Bloch & Schneider, 1801 | synonym |
| Otolithus obliquatus Cuvier & Valenciennes, 1879 Cuvier & Valenciennes, 1879 | synonym |
| Roccus comes Mitchill, 1814 Mitchill, 1814 | synonym |
| Cynoscion regalis regalis (Bloch & Schneider, 1801) (Bloch & Schneider, 1801) | synonym |
| Otolithus thalassinus Holbrook, 1855 Holbrook, 1855 | synonym |
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=159313 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:6BVN8. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.