Sciaenops ocellatus

9.9

A large saltwater fish called red drum found along the United States Atlantic coast

noun
/ˈskaɪəˌnɒps oʊˈsɛləˌtəs/

Specialized

: pez tambor rojo

Conservation efforts have helped restore populations of Sciaenops ocellatus along the Atlantic seaboard.

Examples

Many anglers travel to the Gulf Coast hoping to catch a Sciaenops ocellatus for sport and food.
The Sciaenops ocellatus is appreciated both by seafood lovers and recreational fishermen.
I caught a Sciaenops ocellatus!
Have you ever tried Sciaenops ocellatus?
Many anglers travel to the Gulf Coast hoping to catch a Sciaenops ocellatus for sport and food.
The Sciaenops ocellatus is appreciated both by seafood lovers and recreational fishermen.
Conservation efforts have helped restore populations of Sciaenops ocellatus along the Atlantic seaboard.

Synonyms

red drum

vsSciaenops ocellatus

1 7.0

A large fish people eat and catch for sport along the United States Atlantic coast

is the scientific Latin name for the same species

channel bass

vsSciaenops ocellatus

7.0

A large saltwater fish often caught for food along the US coast

is the formal scientific name rather than a regional common name

Surface Forms

Sciaenops ocellatus singular

Sciaenops ocellatuses plural

Morphology

Sciaenops + ocellatus

This is a Latin scientific binomial (genus + species epithet) whose common-name referent ('red drum') is not compositionally derivable from 'Sciaenops' (a taxonomic label) and 'ocellatus' (an untranslated Latin form). Even if a B1 learner 'knows' those tokens, binomial names function as arbitrary labels and the Latin morphology is not accessible to typical learners, so the meaning is not predictable from the parts.

Etymology

Sciaenops ocellatus comes from old words meaning 'drum' (Sciaenops) and 'little eye' (ocellatus). The fish can make a low drumming sound and has a dark, eye-like spot near its tail, so the name fits the 'red drum', a large fish found along the coast that people catch for food.