Description:
The pinfish, a member of the porgie family, grows to 15 inches in length, though they are not generally observed at this size.  They are compressed, fairly deep-bodied, and oval in shape.  The head is somewhat concave at the eye, with a short snout and terminal mouth.  The front teeth are flattened and notched.  Body color is typically a blue to olive green dorsally, silvery along the sides, and white ventrally.  Yellow lines run horizontally along the body, with 4 - 6 dark bars running vertically.  Fins are typically yellowish.  There is a single dorsal fin that has its first spine directed forward.  A prominent black spot, equal in size to the eye, is set on the lateral line at the shoulder.   l

Habitat:
Pinfish inhabit shallow, nearshore waters, bays and estuaries.  They are most common in seagrasses.   

Similar Species:
Pinfish can be confused with 2 other local species: the sea bream, Archosargus rhomboidalis, and the spottail pinfish, Diplodus holbrooki.  They are distinguished from the sea bream in that the dark spot on the shoulder of the pinfish is centered on the lateral line, but in the sea bream, this spot lies beneath the lateral line.  Pinfish are distinguished from the spottail pinfish by 2 features:  a spot on the caudal peduncle in the spottail pinfish, which is lacking in the pinfish;  and in the vertical bars running vertically on the body.  While the pinfish has only 4 - 6 of these, the spottial pinfish has as many as 8. 

Range:
Pinfish range from Cape Cod,  Massachusetts south along the Atlantic coast and Bermuda to the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico, and possibly to northern Cuba.