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The butterfish is a small, round fish distinguishable by its thin,
deep body and lack of pelvic or ventral fins. It resembles a flounder
swimming on its edge. The butterfish has a soft-rayed dorsal fin
running along the length of its back and an anal fin almost as long.
Its tail is deeply forked, and the pectoral fins are long and pointed.
The butterfish has a small mouth with a single row of weak teeth
and a concealed upper lip. Its snout is heavy and rounded, and the
large eyes are rimmed with fatty tissue. Butterfish scales are quite
small and will easily slough off when touched.
Butterfish travel in large schools, preying on small pelagic fish,
shrimp, squid, and sometimes jellyfish and comb jellies. Young
butterfish are often seen taking shelter among the tentacles of sea
nettles and other jellyfish, apparently immune to the toxins in the
stinging tentacles.
The butterfish matures after the first year, but rarely lives past
the age of three. The young fish stays close to the shore during the
first year of its life, preferring areas of high salinity to the fresher
estuarine waters. Butterfish found in Narragansett Bay are part of a
larger population of butterfish that migrate along the Atlantic
coastline from southern New England to Cape Hatteras. They migrate out
of the Bay to deeper waters in late fall as water temperatures cool.
When in the Bay, the butterfish swims near the surface, particularly
over sandy-bottom habitats.
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Peprilus triancanthus
