Sheepshead

About Sheepshead

See: Porgies, Wrasses

Archosargus probatocephalus, the sheepshead, sheepshead seabream or convict fish, is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Sparidae, the seabreams and porgies. This species is found in the Western Atlantic Ocean. The sheepshead is an important species to recreational and commercial fisheries.

Archosargus probatocephalus, the sheepshead, sheepshead seabream or convict fish, is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Sparidae, the seabreams and porgies. This species is found in the Western Atlantic Ocean. The sheepshead is an important species to recreational and commercial fisheries. Taxonomy Archosargus probatocephalus was first formally described as Sparus probatocephalus by the German physician, naturalist and taxonomist Johann Julius Walbaum with no type locality given, although it is thought to be New York. The Southern sheepshead (A. aries) is regarded as a separate valid species by some authorities, but is not recognised as such by FishBase. The genus Archosargus is placed in the family Sparidae within the order Spariformes by the 5th edition of Fishes of the World. Some authorities classify this genus in the subfamily Sparinae, but the 5th edition of Fishes of the World does not recognise subfamilies within the Sparidae. Etymology Archosargus probatocephalus has a specific name which compounds probaton, meaning “sheep”, with cephalus. This means “head”, reflecting its common name, sheepshead, which it was probably given because of some…