Types of drum

The black drum (Pogonias cromis), also known as the drum or drummer, is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Sciaenidae, the drums and croakers. It is found in the western Atlantic Ocean off the eastern coast of North and South America. Though most specimens are generally found in the 5-30 lb (2–14 kg) range, the largest black drum was just over 113 lb (51 kg), while in Argentina in 1971, a 48 kg black drum was captured. They are often black and/or gray in color with juvenile fish having distinctive dark stripes over a gray body. Their teeth are rounded and they have powerful jaws capable of crushing oysters and other shellfish. Black drum are capable of producing tones between 100 Hz and 500 Hz when performing mating calls.

Black drum over 15 pounds (6.8 kg) should be released, as their flesh is very coarse and tough.

Taxonomy

The black drum was first formally described as Labrus cromis by Carl Linnaeus in 1766 with one of its type localities given as Carolina. In 1801, the Bernard Germain de Lacépède described a new species, Pogonias fasciatus, without giving a type locality, but it is thought to be Charleston, South Carolina, and placed it a new monospecific genus, Pogonias. This taxon is a junior synonym of Linnaeus's Labrus cromis. This species was thought to have an antitropical distribution, but in 2019, the South American population was recognized as a valid species Pogonias courbina, originally described as Pogonathus courbina by Lacépède in 1803. The genus Pogonias has been placed in the subfamily Sciaeninae by some workers, but the 5th edition of Fishes of the World does not recognise subfamilies within the Sciaenidae, which it places in the order Acanthuriformes.

Habits, distribution, and characteristics

The black drum is usually found in or near brackish waters. Larger, older fish are more commonly found in the saltier areas of an estuary (closer to the ocean) near oyster beds or other plentiful food sources. Juvenile fish have four or five bold, vertical, black bars on a light background and can be mistaken for sheepshead at first glance, but are distinguished on closer inspection because sheepshead have teeth and black drum have chin barbels. These stripes usually fade to dull gray as the fish grow from 12 to 24 inches (30 to 61 cm) in length. Juvenile fish are more commonly found in less salty areas and relate more strongly to structure and cover. In the western Atlantic, black drum are found from Nova Scotia to Florida, the Gulf of Mexico, the Antilles (uncommon), and the southern Caribbean coast. They are common between the Delaware Bay and Florida coasts, and most abundant along the Texas coast. After reaching maturity by the end of their second year, black drum spawn in and around estuarine waters. In Texas, most spawning takes place in February and March.

Feeding

Black drum larvae eat mostly zooplankton, and young black drum (less than 20 cm long) eat worms and small fish. Black drum are mostly bottom feeders, with adults eating mostly mollusks and crabs. In shallow water, they have been reported to feed with their heads down so that their tails show above the water surface. Their sensitive chin barbels help locate food and strong pharyngeal teeth crush the shells of these preferred foods. In captivity, large drum reportedly were able to eat more than two commercial-sized oysters per kilogram of body weight each day. This translates into the potential for a 20 kg drum (about 45 lb) to eat 40 oysters a day. Fishing advice for black drum along the east and southeast coasts of the United States often includes the suggestion to locate an oyster bed. This preference, though, has also caused black drum to be a nuisance for those who raise oysters commercially. A group of black drum can do great damage to an oyster bed in a single day.

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.

Characteristics

Red drum are a dark red color on the back, which fades into white on the belly. The red drum has a characteristic eyespot near the tail and is somewhat streamlined. Three-year-old red drum typically weigh 6 to 8 pounds (2.7–3.6 kg). The largest red drum on record weighed just over 94 pounds (43 kg) and was caught in 1984 on Hatteras Island. Male red drum make a knocking or drumming sound during spawning by vibrating their swim bladders.

The most distinguishing mark on the red drum is one large black spot on the upper part of the tail base. Having multiple spots is not uncommon for this fish, but having no spots is extremely rare. As the fish with multiple spots grow older, they seem to lose their excess spots. Scientists believe that the black spot near their tail helps fool predators into attacking the red drum's tail instead of its head, allowing the red drum to escape. The red drum uses its senses of sight and touch, and its downturned mouth, to locate forage on the bottom through vacuuming or biting. On the top and middle of the water column, it uses changes in the light that might look like food. In the summer and fall, adult red drum feed on crabs, shrimp, and mullet; in the spring and winter, adults primarily feed on menhaden, mullet, pinfish, sea robin, lizardfish, spot, Atlantic croaker, and mudminnows.

Distribution

Red drum naturally occur along the eastern and southern Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico coasts of Louisiana, Texas, Alabama, Mississippi, Florida, Georgia, the Carolinas, and Virginia. They are a highly prized game fish in the Gulf of Mexico. Aquaculture activities involving them occur around the world. Several individuals have been recently reported from the Mediterranean Sea off Israel and Sicily, all likely escapees from aquaculture farms.

Immature red drum prefer grass marsh areas of bays and estuaries when available. Both younger mature red drum (3–6 years of age) and bull red drum prefer rocky outcroppings including jetties and manmade structures, such as oil rigs and bridge posts. Around this type of structure, they are found throughout the water column.

Reproduction and growth

Mature red drum spawn in near shorelines from mid-August to mid-October. The red drum's eggs incubate for 24 hours. A female lays about 1.5 million (with a range of 200,000 up to more than three million) eggs per batch. Scharf (2000) reported that in the first year, young red drum in Texas estuaries grew about 0.6 mm per day, though the rates varied with location and year and were higher in more southerly estuaries. Larvae are approximately 0.07 inches (1.8 mm) long at hatching. After the first year, they may be 271 – 383 mm long. About half of red drum are able to reproduce by age 4 years, when they are 660–700 mm long and 3.4 – 4 kg in weight. Red drum can live to be 60 years old.

As red drum grow longer, they increase in weight exponentially. The relationship between length (L) and weight (W) for nearly all species of fish can be expressed by an equation of the form:

The freshwater drum, Aplodinotus grunniens, is a fish endemic to North and Central America. It is the only species in the genus Aplodinotus, and is a member of the family Sciaenidae. It is the only North American member of the group that inhabits freshwater for its entire life. Its generic name, Aplodinotus, comes from Greek meaning "single back", and the specific epithet, grunniens, comes from a Latin word meaning "grunting". It is given to it because of the grunting noise that mature males make. This noise comes from a special set of muscles within the body cavity that vibrate against the swim bladder. The purpose of the grunting is unknown, but due to it being present in only mature males and during the spawning season, it is assumed to be linked to spawning.

The freshwater drum is also called Russell fish, shepherd's pie, gray bass, Gasper goo, Gaspergou, gou, grunt, grunter, grinder, gooble gobble, and croaker. It is commonly known as sheephead and sunfish in parts of Canada, and the United States.

Distribution

Freshwater drum are the only North American member of their family to exclusively inhabit freshwater (freshwater family members in genera Pachypops, Pachyurus, Petilipinnis and Plagioscion are from South America, while Boesemania is Asian). Their great distribution range goes as far north as the Hudson Bay, and reaches as far south as Guatemala. Their longitudinal distribution goes as far east as the eastern Appalachians and stretches as far west into Texas, Kansas, and Oklahoma. Freshwater drum are considered to be one of the most wide-ranging species in North America.

Description

The drum typically weighs 5–15 lb (2.3–6.8 kg). The world record was caught on Nickajack Lake in Tennessee, and weighed in at 54 lb 8 oz (24.7 kg). The freshwater drum is frequently gray or silvery but may be more bronze or brown colored, common in the Lake Erie population. It is a deep-bodied fish with a divided dorsal fin consisting of 10 spines and approximately 30 rays. The pectoral fins are elongated and pointed, and the lateral line extends into the caudal fin, which has a rounded or pointed margin.

The eye of the freshwater drum contains a tapetum lucidum within the retinal pigmented epithelium, as in other sciaenids. In other sciaenids this structure has been found to contain packed lipid spherules which contribute to its reflective properties.

Ecology

The freshwater drum prefers clear water, but it is tolerant of turbid and murky water. They prefer the bottom to be clean sand and gravel substrates.

The diet of the freshwater drum is generally benthic and composed of macroinvertebrates (mainly aquatic insect larvae and bivalve mussels), as well as small fish in certain ecosystems. Freshwater drum show distinct seasonal differences in their diet. In April and May, the drum feeds on dipterans. During these months, dipterans make up about 50 percent of the freshwater drum's diet. In August through November, they tend to eat fish (which are primarily young-of-the-year Gizzard shad). The percentage of fish in their diet at this time ranges from 52 to 94 percent. Other items in the drum's diet are mollusks and crayfish.