| Zusammenfassung: | Prionotus species with emarginate pectoral fins constitute the P. alatus species complex and consist of P. alatus, P. beanii, and P. paralatus. Specimens of this complex collected off the coast of Mobile, Alabama, were intermediate and appeared to be hybrids of P. alatus and P. paralatus. A total of 87 specimens of P. alatus and P. paralatus, plus 40 putative hybrids were examined. Greater length of the lower joined pectoral-fin rays distinguished P. alatus from its cognates. The putative hybrids had the lower joined pectoral rays at intermediate lengths and/or possessed mosaic character combinations. The hybrid zone extended from Gulfport, Mississippi, to Panama City, Florida, and may represent a vicariant zone. Similar distributional patterns are displayed by at least 13 other putative clades of benthic fishes and invertebrates, and in some cases, the zone of overlap between congeners extends southward to Campeche Bay. The putative vicariant zone appears to extend northward onto the coastal plain where it is called the Central Gulf Coast vicariant zone.
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