Editing Archosargus probatocephalus

{{Short description|Species of fish}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2019}}
{{Speciesbox
| image = Sheepshead.jpg
| image2 = FMIB 47083 Sheep%27s-head, Sargus ovis, of North America.jpeg
| status = LC
| status_system = IUCN3.1
|status_ref=<ref name = iucn>{{cite iucn|author1=Carpenter, K.E.|author2=MacDonald, T.|author3=Russell, B.|author4=Vega-Cendejas, M.|name-list-style=& |year=2014|title=''Archosargus probatocephalus''|page=e.T170223A1296293|doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2014-3.RLTS.T170223A1296293.en|access-date=15 July 2023}}</ref>
| taxon = Archosargus probatocephalus
| authority = ([[Johann Julius Walbaum|Walbaum]], 1792)
| synonyms = {{Specieslist
| Sparus probatocephalus | Walbaum, 1792
| Sparus ovicephalus | [[Marcus Elieser Bloch|Bloch]] & [[Johann Gottlob Theaenus Schneider|Schneider]], 1801
| Perca leonina | [[Laurens Theodorus Gronovius|Gronow]], 1854
| Archosargus oviceps | [[Isaac Ginsburg|Ginsburg]], 1952
| Sparus ovis | [[Samuel L. Mitchill|Mitchill]], 1815
| Sparus ovicephalus var. poki | Bloch & Schneider, 1801
| Sparus ovicephalus var. porgee | Bloch & Schneider, 1801
| Sparus porgee | Walbaum, (ex Schöpf) 1792
| Sparus porgy | [[Bernard Germain de Lacépède|Lacépède]], 1802
}}
| synonyms_ref = <ref name = CofF>{{Cof genus|genus=Archosargus|access-date=27 December 2023}}</ref>
}}
'''''Archosargus probatocephalus''''', the '''sheepshead''', '''sheepshead seabream''' or '''convict fish''', is a species of marine [[ray-finned fish]] belonging to the [[Family (biology)|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 [[Species description|described]] as ''Sparus probatocephalus'' by the German [[physician]], [[naturalist]] and [[taxonomist]] [[Johann Julius Walbaum]] with no [[Type locality (biology)|type locality]] given, although it is thought to be [[New York (state)|New York]].<ref name = CofF/> The Southern sheepshead (''[[Archosargus aries|A. aries]]'') is regarded as a separate valid species by some authorities,<ref name = Parenti/> but is not recognised as such by [[FishBase]].<ref name = Fishbase2>{{FishBase genus|genus=Archosargus|month=October|year=2023}}</ref> The genus ''Archosargus'' is placed in the family Sparidae within the [[Order (biology)|order]] [[Spariformes]] by the 5th edition of ''[[Fishes of the World]]''.<ref name = Nelson5>{{cite book |author1=Nelson, J.S. |author1-link=Joseph S. Nelson |author2=Grande, T.C. |author3=Wilson, M.V.H. |year=2016 |title=Fishes of the World |edition=5th |publisher=[[John Wiley & Sons]] |place=Hoboken, NJ |pages=502–506 |isbn=978-1-118-34233-6 |lccn=2015037522 |oclc=951899884 |ol=25909650M |doi=10.1002/9781119174844}}</ref> Some authorities classify this genus in the subfamily Sparinae,<ref name = Parenti>{{cite journal |author= Parenti, P. |year=2019 |title=An annotated checklist of the fishes of the family Sparidae |journal=FishTaxa |volume=4 |issue=2 |pages=47–98 |url= https://fishtaxa.com/menuscript/index.php/ft/article/view/49/52}}</ref> but the 5th edition of Fishes of the World does not recognise subfamilies within the Sparidae.<ref name = Nelson5/>

==Etymology==
''Archosargus probatocephalus'' has a [[Specific name (zoology)|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 sheep-like features, such as having large teeth protruding from an open mouth.<ref name = ETYFish>{{cite web |url=https://etyfish.org/spariformes/ |title=Order SPARIFORMES: Families LETHRINIDAE, NEMIPTERIDAE and SPARIDAE |work=The ETYFish Project Fish Name Etymology Database |access-date=27 December 2023 |date=17 October 2022 |publisher=Christopher Scharpf |archive-date=30 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231030165034/https://etyfish.org/spariformes/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>

==Description==
''Archosargus probatocephalus'' has an oval shaped, deep, laterally compressed body with a small blunt head, the dorsal and ventral profiles of the head being convex. It has moderately sized eyes, a small horizontal mouth and the preorbital bone overlaps the rear of the [[maxilla]]. The teeth at the front of the jaw are broad and flattened, the upper jaw has three rows of molar-like teeth at the sides. The margin of the [[preoperculum]] is smooth, with no serrations or spines. The [[dorsal fin]] is long and not high and is supported by 12 spines, the front spine points towards the front and may be embedded, and 11 soft rays. The [[anal fin]] contains three spines, the second spine being very robust, and 9 or 10 soft rays. The [[pectoral fin]] is long, clearly greater in length than the [[pelvic fin]]s, extending to the level of the middle spine of the anal fin. The [[caudal fin]] is forked.<ref name = STRI>{{cite web |url=https://biogeodb.stri.si.edu/caribbean/en/thefishes/species/3740 |title=Species: Archosargus probatocephalus, Sheepshead, Sheepshead Bream |access-date=27 December 2023 |work=Shorefishes of the Greater Caribbean online information |publisher=[[Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute]]}}</ref> The adults are silvery to greenish-yellow with olive on the upper body. Along the flanks there are five or six dark vertical bars, which fade with age. The caudal and pectoral fins are greenish in colour while the dorsal, anal, and pelvic fins are dark.<ref name = FM>{{cite web |url=https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/discover-fish/species-profiles/archosargus-probatocephalus/ |title=Archosargus probatocephalus |access-date=27 December 2023 |work=Discover Fishes |author=Cathleen Bester |author2=Robert H. Robins |name-list-style=and |publisher=Florida Museum}}</ref> The sheepshead reaches a maximum published [[total length]] of {{cvt|91|cm}}, although {{cvt|35|cm}} is more typical.<ref name = Fishbase>{{FishBase|Archosargus|probatocephalus|month=October|year=2023}}</ref>

==Distribution and habitat==
''Archosargus probatocephalus'' is found in the Western Atlantic Ocean where it ranges from [[Nova Scotia]] to [[Rio Grande do Sul]] in Brazil, including the [[Gulf of Mexico]] and the [[Caribbean Sea]].<ref name = iucn/> It mainly occurs in coastal waters in the vicinity of rock pilings, jetties, mangrove roots, and piers, also in tidal creeks. It is [[euryhaline]] and shows a preference for brackish waters. It looks for warmer spots around springs and discharges of rivers and will occasionally enter freshwater in the winter.<ref name = FM/>

==Biology==
''Archosargus probatocephalus'' is an omnivore, the larger juveniles and adults are predators of blue crab (''[[Callinectes sapidus]]''), oysters, clams, crustaceans, and small fish with young [[Atlantic croaker]]s (''Micropogonias undulatus'') The large flattened teeth are used to crush prey protected by shells or armor as well as to scrape barnacles off rocks and pilings. Juveniles feed on [[zooplankton]], [[polychaete]]s, and [[Chironomidae|chironomid]] larvae.<ref name = FM/>

Populations of this fish in the Atlantic waters off the southern United States spawn mainly in the early spring. However, pelagic larvae have been observed in late winter and spring in the Gulf of Mexico. Adults move further offshore to spawn, going back to coastal waters and estuaries. The juveniles are most numerous in [[seagrass]] beds and over mud substrates, and once they grow to a length of around {{cvt|50|mm}}, they leave the seagrass beds and aggregate with the adults.<ref name = FM/>

==Fishing==
''Archosargus probatocephalus'' feeds on bivalves and crustaceans,<ref name="state1">{{cite web|url=http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/huntwild/wild/species/sheepshead/ |title=Sheepshead (''Archosargus probatocephalus'') |publisher=Tpwd.state.tx.us |access-date=4 January 2013}}</ref> so successful baits include [[shrimp]], [[Emerita (crustacean)|sand fleas]] (mole crabs), [[clam]]s, fiddler crabs, and [[mussel]]s.<ref name="state4">{{cite news|last=Gillis|first=Chad|title=Fishing 101: Sheepshead Porgy|url=http://www.naplesnews.com/news/2008/mar/06/fishing-101-sheepshead-porgy/|newspaper=naplesnews.com|date=6 March 2008|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080318103222/http://www.naplesnews.com/news/2008/mar/06/fishing-101-sheepshead-porgy/|archive-date=18 March 2008}}</ref> [https://tacklepier.com/pages/sheepshead-fish Sheepshead] have a habit of stealing bait, so a small [[fishhook|hook]] is necessary.<ref name="state4"/> Locating sheepshead with a boat is not difficult: fishermen look for rocky bottoms or places with obstructions, [[jetty|jetties]], and the pilings of [[bridge]]s and [[pier]]s.<ref name="state4"/> The average weight of a sheepshead is {{convert|3|to|4|lb|kg|abbr=on|order=flip}}, but some individuals reach the range of {{convert|10|to|15|lb|kg|abbr=on|order=flip}}.<ref name="state4"/> This species was subjected to [[overfishing]] in the past, and is again becoming more important to commercial fisheries in the Gulf of Mexico as more desirable species, such as [[red drum]] (''Sciaenops ocellatus''), decrease through overfishing.<ref name = oceanbites>{{cite web |url=https://oceanbites.org/sheepshead-a-lesson-from-the-past/ |title=Sheepshead, a lesson from the past |author=Samantha Setta |access-date=27 December 2023 |date=19 August 2021 |publisher=0cean Bites}}</ref>

==Parasites==
As with other fish, the sheepshead has a variety of [[fish parasites|parasites]]. One of them is the [[monogenea]]n ''[[Microcotyle archosargi]]'', which is parasitic on its [[gills]].<ref name = WoRMS>{{cite WoRMS |author=Nicolas Bailly |year=2008 |title=''Archosargus probatocephalus'' (Walbaum, 1792) |id=159238 |access-date=27 December 2023}}</ref><ref name="MacCallum1913">{{cite journal |author=MacCallum, G.A. |year=1913 |title=Further notes on the genus ''Microcotyle'' |journal= Zoologische Jahrbücher. Abteilung für Systematik, Geographie und Biologie der Tiere |volume=35 |pages=389–402 |url=https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/9757782}}</ref>
 
==Sheepshead Bay==
''Archosargus probatocephalus'' has [[Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn]] named after its common name, this fish was found in the waters of the Bay.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Naming of Sheepshead Bay |last=Davis |first=Nicole |website=Brooklyn Based |date=12 July 2013 |url= https://brooklynbased.com/2009/05/19/the-naming-of-sheepshead-bay/}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/cu31924088998046|title=The Civil, Political, Professional and Ecclesiastical History, and Commercial and Industrial Record of the County of Kings and the City of Brooklyn, N. Y. from 1683 to 1884|last1=Stiles|first1=H.R.|last2=Brockett|first2=L.P.|last3=Proctor|first3=L.B.|publisher=Munsell|year=1884|series=New York: county and regional histories and atlases|page=[https://archive.org/details/cu31924088998046/page/172 172]|access-date=July 26, 2019}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{commonscat}}

*{{cite EB1911|wstitle=Sheepshead |volume=24 |page=822|short=x}}
* [http://www.sms.si.edu/IRLSpec/Archos_probat.htm Archosargus probatocephalus] Smithsonian Marine Station
* [http://www.floridashorefishing.com/fish-profiles/sheepshead Sheedshead Information] Florida Shore Fishing Page
* {{sealifephotos|159238}}

{{Taxonbar|from=Q744187}}

[[Category:Archosargus|probatocephalus]]
[[Category:Commercial fish]]
[[Category:Game fish]]
<!-- [[Category:Seafood]] included in "Category:Marine edible fish" -->
[[Category:Fish of the Atlantic Ocean]]
[[Category:Fish described in 1792]]
[[Category:Fish of Aruba]]
[[Category:Marine fish of Nicaragua]]
[[Category:Taxa named by Johann Julius Walbaum]]