D ]T, 21-25; A U, 7-8; P1 18; P2 T, 5; LLS 48; GR 8+12=20-24.
HL 30.1% of SL; ED 5.3; BO 33.0; SN 10.2; IO 8.3; UJ 10.9; CP 10.5; P1L 22.1; P2L 17.7; A base L 11.5; PreD 38.4.
Body oblong, compressed. Dorsal fin with a deep notch or almost divided in two; a short spine in front of soft dorsal. Posterior margin of caudal fin slightly concave. Tip of snout blunt. Mouth small and inferior, nearly horizontal. Teeth on both jaws villiform, forming bands. Preopercular margin finely serrated. A stout, rigid barbel at tip of lower jaw, its tip rounded; two pairs of large mental pores on ventral side of head laterally. Tip of snout with 8 pores. Scales ctenoid. Lateral line extending to posterior margin of caudal fin. Gill-rakers short. Swim-bladder well developed in adults. Upper part of body with many dark longitudinal strips; no well defined dark spot at bases of pectoral fins.
Distribution:
From southeast of Brazil (Cabo de São Tomé, RJ, 22°35′S) to northern Argentina (Bonaerensis area, 40°S) at depths of 10 m to 100 m. Especially abundant at depths of about 100 m.
Remarks:
Commercially important middle-sized drum. Body length about 35cm SL. Closely related species, U. coroides, is distributed off Brazil, but differs from this species by number of dorsal and anal soft rays, 13-15 conspicuous lateral stripes (20-24 stripes in U. canosi) and gill-rakers (Menezes and Figueiredo, 1980). There are 3 other species of Umbrina, U. broussonetii Cuvier, 1830, U. coroides Cuvier, 1830 and U. milliae Miller, 1971 in the western Atlantic (Chao, 1978).