Sciaenidae

red drum

Sciaenops ocellatus

One Hundred Fifty Five Centimeters Sciaenid Fish from Western Atlantic

• Red
• Tropical
• Regional distribution
• Atlantic Ocean
• North America
• Fusiform
• Large
• Tropical fish

The red drum (Sciaenops ocellatus), also known as redfish, channel bass, puppy drum, spottail bass, or simply red, is a game fish found in the Atlantic Ocean from Massachusetts to Florida and in the Gulf of Mexico from Florida to northern Mexico. It is the only species in the genus Sciaenops. The red drum is related to the black drum (Pogonias cromis), and the two species are often found near to each other; they can interbreed and form a robust hybrid, and younger fish are often indistinguishable in flavor.