Pigfish

Orthopristis chrysoptera attains a maximum total length of 46 cm (18 in), although 30 cm (12 in) is more typical, and the maximum recorded weight is 900 g (32 oz). This species has an elliptical, oval shaped, compressed body with a thin-lipped small mouth which does not extend to the eye and is not coloured red inside. The jaws have a narrow band of thin teeth. The dorsal fin contains 12–13 spines and a similar number of soft rays while the anal fin has 3 spines and 12–13 soft rays, the second spine is slightly thicker and longer than the third. The entire body is covered in scales apart from the tip of the snout, lips and chin. The Pigfish is pale bluish-grey on its back and silvery on its underside. Every scale on its body has a blue center and a bronze spot on the margin, creating diagonal orange-brown stripes running up an along the flanks and back. The stripes below the lateral line are horizontal. There are bronze spots on the head and the fins are a yellowish- bronze with dusky margins.

Orthopristis chrysoptera is found in the western Atlantic Ocean along the east coast of the United States and Mexico. Its range extends from Massachusetts to Florida and into the Gulf of Mexico, including the Yucatan Peninsula and Cuba. It is also found in Bermuda. A single specimen was reported off the coast of southern Sicily in 2020, likely after being transported accidentally by a ship.