Inshore Lizardfish
Synodus foetens
Physical: The inshore lizardfish is a long fish with a cylindrical body and a large pointed snout. Its back is greenish-brown, and its sides have dark blotches, and 8 roughly diamond-shaped marks. It grows up to 16 in (40 cm).
Habitat: Its range stretches from Massachusetts to Florida, the northern Gulf of Mexico down to Brazil, including the Caribbean Sea. It prefers a soft bottom along the coastline. Lizardfishes can be found in saltwater creeks, bays and sounds, and brackish water lagoons.
Feeding: Inshore lizardfishes are solitary predators. Adults will burrow into sediment to surprise their prey, and also to hide from predators. They mostly eat fish and invertebrates like squid, shrimp, and crabs.
Breeding: Inshore lizardfishes spawn year-round. Mating pairs will release eggs into the water and let them scatter onto the bottom after fertilization.
