The Atlantic spadefish (Chaetodipterus faber) is a species of marine fish

Fish

Fish are a paraphyletic group of organisms that consist of all gill-bearing aquatic vertebrate animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish, as well as various extinct related groups...

 endemic to the western Atlantic Ocean

Atlantic Ocean

The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...

. They are commonly found in shallow waters off the coast of the southeastern United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 and in the Caribbean

Caribbean

The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...

.

Due to their reputation as strong fighters, they are popular game fish

Game fish

Game fish are fish pursued for sport by recreational anglers. They can be freshwater or marine fish. Game fish can be eaten after being caught, though increasingly anglers practise catch and release to improve fish populations. Some game fish are also targeted commercially, particularly...

, especially during the summer months when they are most active.

Naming and taxonomy

The Atlantic spadefish is known by numerous colloquial names, including angelfish, white angelfish, threetailed porgy, ocean cobbler, and moonfish.

The Atlantic spadefish belongs to the genus Chaetodipterus, which includes two other species: the West African spadefish (Chaetodipterus lippei) and the Pacific spadefish (Chaetodipterus zonatus). The Chaetodipterus genus belongs to the Ephippidae

Ephippidae

Ephippidae is the fish family containing the spadefishes. There are about eight genera, with a total of 20 species, mostly marine. The most well-known species are probably those in the reef-dwelling genus Platax, the batfishes, which are kept as aquarium fish. They are spade-shaped, laterally...

 family, which includes spadefish and batfish.

Description

The Atlantic spadefish has a very deep, compressed, disk-shaped body and a blunt snout. The second dorsal

Dorsal fin

A dorsal fin is a fin located on the backs of various unrelated marine and freshwater vertebrates, including most fishes, marine mammals , and the ichthyosaurs...

 and anal fins of adults have long, trailing anterior lobes, giving an "angelfish-like" appearance. The body is silver in color with irregular black vertical bands that fade gradually with age. The mouth is small, with the maxilla

Maxilla

The maxilla is a fusion of two bones along the palatal fissure that form the upper jaw. This is similar to the mandible , which is also a fusion of two halves at the mental symphysis. Sometimes The maxilla (plural: maxillae) is a fusion of two bones along the palatal fissure that form the upper...

of adults ending beneath the nostrils. Specimens commonly weigh from three to ten pounds, although individuals as large as twenty pounds have been recorded. Their maximum length is about 3 feet (0.9 meters).

Sport fishing

The Atlantic spadefish has become a popular target species for sportfishermen due to their abundance and the strong fight they have for their size. They are good table fare, especially if smoked or grilled. A common method of catching involves using small pieces of clam on a small circle hook.