The Croakers or Drums (Sciaenidae): The Croakers or Drums of the Sciaenidae Family, are a series of fish caught out of the surf. They are so named because of the sound they make with their resonating swim bladders.

The croakers are easily distinguished from other perciform fishes (a group of bony fished with more than 6,000 species placed in 150 families) by their separated dorsal fins, one or two anal spines, and a prominent lateral line that extends into the caudal fin and to its posterior edge. (The lateral line normally ends at the base of the caudal fin in most fishes.) They are tropical fishes that inhabit sandy shores and estuaries. At present there are 270 known species of Sciaenidae, of which 30 are found in the Sea of Cortez.

Members of the Croaker or Drum Family found in Mexican waters and represented in the fish identification section of this website include: the Bigeye Croaker, Corvula macrops; Black Croaker, Cheilotrema saturnum; California Corbina, Menticirrhus undulatus; Cortez Croaker, Umbrina wintersteeni; Gulf Weakfish, Cynoscion othonopterum; Longfin Croaker or Longfin Drum, Umbrina dorsalis; Longspine Croaker, Umbrina analis; Polla Drum, Golden Drum or Golden Croaker, Umbrina xanti; Shortfin Corvina or Shortfin Weakfish, Cynoscion parvipinnis; Spotfin Croaker or Spotfin Drum, Roncador stearnsi; Spotted Seatrout, Cynoscion nebulosus; Steeplined Croaker, Larimus acclivis; Striped Corvina, Cynoscion reticulates; Totoaba, Totoaba macdonaldi; White Croaker or White Drum, Genyonemus lineatus; White Seabass, White Weakfish or King Croaker, Atractoscion nobilis; Yelloweye Croaker or Yellow Eye Drum, Odontoscion xanthops; and Yellowfin Croaker or Yellowfin Drum, Umbrina roncador.