Gulf kingcroaker
Menticirrhus littoralis (Holbrook, 1847)
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.
Open encyclopedia reference
Menticirrhus littoralis, known as the Gulf kingfish, Gulf kingcroaker, Gulf whiting, sea mullet or simply whiting, is a species of bottom-dwelling marine fish in the family Sciaenidae. It can be found in coastal waters of the Western Atlantic, from Virginia to Brazil,, particularly from North Carolina to Florida, with most sightings occurring along the shores of the Gulf of Mexico.
The genus name Menticirrhus comes from the Latin menti- (chin) and -cirrhus (barbel) for the single short protrusion on its chin. Its epithet littoralis, from -litus, is Latin for "of the seashore" as this fish is typically caught from the surf or inshore.
Wikipedia contributors, Menticirrhus littoralis; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T06:00:23.360328+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Menticirrhus littoralis (Holbrook, 1847)
- Name authority
- (Holbrook, 1847)
- Common name
- Gulf kingcroaker
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Teleostei
- Family
- Sciaenidae
- Genus
- Menticirrhus
- 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
- genusMenticirrhus Gill, 1861
- speciesMenticirrhus littoralis (Holbrook, 1847)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Menticirrhus. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Menticirrhus ophicephalus (Jenyns, 1840) | SciaenidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| northern kingcroakerMenticirrhus saxatilis (Bloch & Schneider, 1801) | SciaenidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| California corbinaMenticirrhus undulatus (Girard, 1854) | SciaenidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| southern kingcroakerMenticirrhus americanus (Linnaeus, 1758) | SciaenidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Menticirrhus cuiaranensis Marceniuk, Caires, Rotundo, Cerqueira, Siccha-Ramirez, Wosiacki & Oliveira, 2020 | SciaenidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| highfin kingfishMenticirrhus nasus (Günther, 1868) | SciaenidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Paita kingfishMenticirrhus paitensis Hildebrand, 1946 | SciaenidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Panama kingfishMenticirrhus panamensis (Steindachner, 1876) | 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 |
|---|---|
| Umbrina littoralis Holbrook, 1847 Holbrook, 1847 | 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=159327 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. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
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:72ZKJ. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.