| Australian barracuda | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Scombriformes |
| Family: | Sphyraenidae |
| Genus: | Sphyraena |
| Species: | S. novaehollandiae |
| Binomial name | |
| Sphyraena novaehollandiae Günther, 1860 | |
| Synonyms [1] | |
| |
The Australian barracuda, arrow barracuda, Australian sea pike, sea pike, snook, or shortfin barracuda, Sphyraena novaehollandiae, is a barracuda of the genus Sphyraena which occurs in the south-western Pacific Ocean.
The Australian barracuda is greenish on the back, silvery on flanks which fades to white on the belly with a greenish-yellow tail. It has the typical fusiform shape of a barracuda, but it is slimmer than most other species of Sphyraena with a conical snout and a protruding lower jaw, the jaws are lined with fang like teeth and the upper jaw is non-protracting. The origin of the dorsal fin is well behind the end of the pectoral fins. It reaches a maximum length of 1.1m and a weight of 5 kg. [2] [3]
The Australian barracuda is distributed along the south coast of Australia and along the east coast to Victoria and Tasmania. [2] It has also been recorded from northern New Zealand and Kiribati with doubtful records from South Africa, the Maldives and Japan [4] but these may be the result of misidentification, confusion with related species masking the true distribution. [2]
The Australian barracuda prefers cooler inshore waters, preferring patches of seagrass Zostera or Heterozostera or seaweed or sandy areas close to weed patches or reefs. It is a pelagic species, which congregates in large shoals and is highly migratory. Their food is made up of smaller fish, cephalopods, crustaceans and bloodworms, it is referred to as an ambush feeder but is also known to actively pursue prey. It appears the Australian barracuda is an opportunistic predators, able to exploit almost any potential prey species, and the variety of prey taken suggests that it hunts at all levels of the water column, taking demersal species such as Haletta semifasciata and Metapenaeopsis prawns and pelagic species such as pilchards, southern sea garfish and squid. [4] [2] [3]
The Australian barracuda has a short spawning season which runs from November to January and February in South Australia. Most females reproduce once they have attained a length of 42 cm which length is normally reached after around 2 years old. Spawning is probably done in a series of batches. During spawning the fish are absent from their normal habitats and this is suggestive that they migrate offshore to spawn in deeper water. The females lay and average total of 375,000 eggs in a season, their fecundity increasing with their size. [4] This species can live for up to 20 years. [2]
The Australian barracuda is subject to a small commercial fishery in South Australia. It is a popular fish with recreational anglers in Australia. [4] [3]
The northern pike is a species of carnivorous fish of the genus Esox. They are typical of brackish and fresh waters of the Northern Hemisphere. They are known simply as a pike in Britain, Ireland, and most of Eastern Europe, Canada and the United States.
The haddock is a saltwater ray-finned fish from the family Gadidae, the true cods. It is the only species in the monotypic genus Melanogrammus. It is found in the North Atlantic Ocean and associated seas where it is an important species for fisheries, especially in northern Europe where it is marketed fresh, frozen and smoked; smoked varieties include the Finnan haddie and the Arbroath smokie.
A barracuda, or cuda for short, is a large, predatory, ray-finned fish known for its fearsome appearance and ferocious behaviour. The barracuda is a saltwater fish of the genus Sphyraena, the only genus in the family Sphyraenidae which was named by Constantine Samuel Rafinesque in 1815. It is found in tropical and subtropical oceans worldwide ranging from the eastern border of the Atlantic Ocean to the Red Sea, on its western border the Caribbean Sea, and in tropical areas of the Pacific Ocean. Barracudas reside near the top of the water and near coral reefs and sea grasses. Barracudas are targeted by sport-fishing enthusiasts.
Hyporhamphus ihi, the garfish or piper, is a halfbeak found all around New Zealand in shallow inshore waters.
The common ling, also known as the white ling or simply the ling, is a large member of the family Lotidae, a group of cod-like fishes. It resembles the related rocklings, but it is much larger and has a single barbel. This species is unrelated to the pink ling, Genypterus blacodes, from the Southern Hemisphere. The common ling is found in the northern Atlantic, mainly off Europe, and into the Mediterranean Basin. It is an important quarry species for fisheries, especially in the northeastern Atlantic, although some doubts exist as the sustainability of the fisheries. As an edible species, it is eaten fresh, frozen, or dried, but also preserved in lye, while the roe is a delicacy in Spain.
Arripis trutta, known as kahawai in New Zealand and as the Australian salmon in Australia, is one of four species of marine fish within the genus Arripis, found in cooler waters around the south eastern and south western coasts of Australia and the New Zealand coastline. Although it is referred to as a salmon in Australia and its species epithet trutta is the Latin for trout, it is not related to salmons or trouts of the family Salmonidae. Other common names for this species include Eastern Australian salmon, bay trout, black back, blackback salmon, buck, buck salmon, cocky salmon, colonial salmon, newfish, and salmon trout.
The yellowtail barracuda is one of the smaller species of barracuda of the family Sphyraenidae, which can be found in Indo-West Pacific oceans. It has also invaded the Mediterranean through the Suez Canal from the Red Sea, making it one of the Lessepsian migrants.
The great barracuda, also known as the giant barracuda, is a common species of barracuda: large, predatory ray-finned fish found in subtropical oceans around the world.
Acanthopagrus butcheri, the black bream but also commonly known as the southern black bream, southern bream and blue-nosed bream, is a species of marine and freshwater fish of the porgy family, Sparidae. It is a deep-bodied fish, occasionally confused with other similar species that occur within its range, but is generally distinguished from these species by a lack of yellow ventral and anal fins. Southern black bream are endemic to Australia, inhabiting the southern coast from Shark Bay in Western Australia to Mallacoota, Victoria, as well as Tasmania.
The rainbow runner, also known as the rainbow yellowtail, Spanish jack and Hawaiian salmon, is a common species of pelagic marine fish of the jack family, Carangidae. The species is widespread throughout the tropical and subtropical waters of the world, inhabiting both coastal and offshore areas. The species is the only member of the genus Elagatis, which was created 15 years after its initial description, and is closely related to the amberjacks. The rainbow runner is easily distinguished by its body shape, and the brilliant colouration which gives the fish its name. It is a fast-swimming predator, taking small fish, cephalopods, and a wide variety of planktonic crustaceans. The species reaches sexual maturity around 60 cm (24 in), and spawning takes place at different times, with some populations spawning year round, while others only spawn at certain times of the year. The species is a well known game fish, taken by a variety of fishing methods, and is a well-regarded table fish. Large numbers of the species are taken as bycatch in tuna- and shark-fishing operations and marketed.
The Malabar trevally, also known as the Malabar jack, Malabar kingfish or nakedshield kingfish, is a species of large inshore marine fish of the jack family, Carangidae. It is distributed throughout the Indian and west Pacific Oceans from South Africa in the west to Japan and Australia in the east, inhabiting reefs and sandy bays on the continental shelf. The Malabar trevally is similar to many of the other species in the genus Carangoides, with the number of gill rakers and the grey-brown colour of the tongue being the diagnostic features. The Malabar trevally is a predator, taking a variety of small fish, cephalopods and crustaceans. The species is of minor economic importance throughout its range, caught by a variety of net and handline methods.
The greater amberjack, also known as the allied kingfish, great amberfish, greater yellowtail, jenny lind, purplish amberjack, reef donkey, rock salmon, sailors choice, yellowtail and yellow trevally, is a species of predatory ray-finned fish in the family Carangidae, the jacks and pompanos. It is found in temperate, subtropical and tropical seas around the world. It is a popular quarry species for recreational fisheries as well as being an important species in commercial fisheries. It is the largest species in the family Carangidae.
The southern sennet is an ocean-going species of game fish in the barracuda family, Sphyraenidae. It was described by the Cuban zoologist Felipe Poey. The description was part of a two-volume work, which Poey published in 1860, entitled Historia Natural de la Isla de Cuba or Natural History of the Island of Cuba. Southern sennet are sometimes used as a food fish, and marketed either fresh or frozen. Although they are generally harmless, Southern sennet have been linked to ciguatera poisoning.
Sphyraena argentea is a predatory fish found in the northeast Pacific Ocean. They range from Cabo San Lucas, Baja California to Washington. However, they are not common north of Point Conception in Santa Barbara County, California. They can reach a length of about 1.2 metres (3.9 ft) and a weight of about 6.8 kilograms (15 lb). California barracuda are very popular sport fish in Southern California.
The yellowmouth grouper, also known as the crossband rockfish, grey mannock, hamlet, harlequin rockfish, princess rockfish, rockfish, salmon grouper, salmon rock fish or scamp, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a grouper from the subfamily Epinephelinae which is part of the family Serranidae, which also includes the anthias and sea basses. It is found in the Caribbean and in the tropical waters of the Atlantic Ocean. It is also found in pockets in Brazil. It is a fairly large fish and it gets its name from the yellow around its mouth.
Sphyraena sphyraena, also known as the European barracuda or Mediterranean barracuda, is a ray-finned predatory fish of the Mediterranean basin and the warmer waters of the Atlantic Ocean.
Sphyraena viridensis, the yellowmouth barracuda or yellow barracuda is a predatory ray finned fish from the family Sphyraenidae, the barracudas, which is found in the warmer waters of the western Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. It is often confused with the European barracuda Sphyraena sphyraena.
Sphyraena chrysotaenia, the yellowstripe barracuda, is a species of predatory, ray finned fish from the family Sphyraenidae which is found in the Indo-West Pacific region. It has entered the Mediterranean Sea from the Red Sea through the Suez Canal as a Lessepesian migrant and is now an important species in the fisheries of the eastern Mediterranean.
Pseudorhombus arsius, the largetooth flounder, is a species of left-eyed flatfish, that is the dark side with the eyes on the adult fish is the left side of the fish's body, from the family Paralichthyidae. As Rhombus polyspilos it was named as the type species of the genus Pseudorhombus. It is an Indo-Pacific species and is fished for by both recreational and commercial fisheries.
Arripis truttacea, the Western Australian salmon, is a species of marine ray-finned fish within the genus Arripis, the only genus within the family Arripidae. It is endemic to the seas off southern Australia.