Atrobucca is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Sciaenidae, the drums and croakers. These fishes are found in the Indo-West Pacific region.
Atrobucca was first proposed as a monospecific genus in 1963 by Yuan-ting Chu, Yun-ling Lo and Han-ling Wu with Sciaena nibe as its designated type species and its only species.[1] S. nibe had been described in 1911 by David Starr Jordan and William Francis Thompson from Wakanoura in the Wakayama Prefecture of Japan.[2] This genus is classified in the family Sciaenidae which is placed within the suborder Sciaenoidei of the order Acanthuriformes in the 5th edition of Fishes of the World.[3]
Atrobucca is a combination of atro, meaning "black", and bucca, which means "mouth", an allusion to the black mouth and pharyngeal cavity of the type species.[4]
Atrobucca contains the following valid species:[5]
Atrobucca croakers have a moderately long, elongate body with an oblique, terminal mouth. There are three pairs of mental pores, one on the front of the chin and a pair each side of the tip of the jaw. They have a carrot-shaped swim bladder with many appendages branching out from along its length. The lining of the mouth lining and peritoneum are typically black.[6] These are relatively small Sciaenids with the largest species being the scorched croaker (A. adusta) with a maximum published standard length of 46 cm (18 in).[5]
Atrobucca croakers are found in the Indo-Pacific from the eastern coast of Africa to the Western Pacific off Australia and New Guinea.[5] Some are rare, known from only a few specimens from relatively deepwater while others can be coastal.[6]
Atrobucca croakers, particularly the blackmouth croaker (A. nibe), can be important food fishes.[6]
Atrobucca is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Sciaenidae, the drums and croakers. These fishes are found in the Indo-West Pacific region.