A tuna is a saltwater fish that belongs to the tribe Thunnini, a subgrouping of the Scombridae (mackerel) family. The Thunnini comprise 15 species across five genera, the sizes of which vary greatly, ranging from the bullet tuna up to the Atlantic bluefin tuna, which averages 2 m (6.6 ft) and is believed to live up to 50 years.
Mackerel is a common name applied to a number of different species of pelagic fish, mostly from the family Scombridae. They are found in both temperate and tropical seas, mostly living along the coast or offshore in the oceanic environment.
The mackerel, tuna, and bonito family, Scombridae, includes many of the most important and familiar food fishes. The family consists of 51 species in 15 genera and two subfamilies. All species are in the subfamily Scombrinae, except the butterfly kingfish, which is the sole member of subfamily Gasterochismatinae.
The albacore, known also as the longfin tuna, is a species of tuna of the order Scombriformes. It is found in temperate and tropical waters across the globe in the epipelagic and mesopelagic zones. There are six distinct stocks known globally in the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian oceans, as well as the Mediterranean Sea. The albacore has an elongate, fusiform body with a conical snout, large eyes, and remarkably long pectoral fins. Its body is a deep blue dorsally and shades of silvery white ventrally. Individuals can reach up to 1.4 m in length.
The billfish are a group of saltwater predatory fish characterised by prominent pointed bills (rostra), and by their large size; some are longer than 4 m (13 ft). Extant billfish include sailfish and marlin, which make up the family Istiophoridae; and swordfish, sole member of the family Xiphiidae. They are often apex predators which feed on a wide variety of smaller fish, crustaceans and cephalopods. These two families are sometimes classified as belonging to the order Istiophoriformes, a group which originated around 71 million years ago in the Late Cretaceous, with the two families diverging around 15 million years ago in the Late Miocene. However, they are also classified as being closely related to the mackerels and tuna within the suborder Scombroidei of the order Perciformes. However, the 5th edition of the Fishes of the World does recognise the Istiophoriformes as a valid order, albeit including the Sphyraenidae, the barracudas.
The dogtooth tuna, also known as white tuna, is a species of pelagic marine fish which belongs to the family Scombridae.
The Indo-Pacific sailfish is a sailfish native to the Indian and Pacific Oceans and is naturalized in the Atlantic where it has entered the Mediterranean Sea via the Suez Canal as a Lessepsian migrant. It is dark blue on top, brown-blue laterally, silvery white underbelly; upper jaw elongated in the form of a spear; first dorsal fin greatly enlarged in the form of a sail, with many black cones, its front squared off, highest at its midpoint; pelvic fins very narrow, reaching almost to the anus; body covered with embedded scales, blunt at end; lateral line curved above pectoral fin, then straight to base of tail. They have a large and sharp bill, which they use for hunting. They feed on tuna and mackerel, some of the fastest fish in the Ocean. Most authorities only recognise a single species of sailfish, I. platypterus.
The Australian bonito, horse mackerel or little bonito, Sarda australis is a fish of the family Scombridae and is found in eastern Australia and New Zealand. They swim at depths reaching depths of approximately 30 m (98 ft), in open water. Its length is commonly at around 40–45 centimetres (16–18 in) fork length and 1.8–2.3 kilograms (4.0–5.1 lb) weight. Its maximum length and weight are about 100 centimetres (39 in) and 9.4 kilograms (21 lb), respectively.
The butterfly kingfish is an ocean-dwelling ray-finned bony fish in the mackerel family, Scombridae – a family which it shares with the tunas, mackerels, Spanish mackerels, and bonitos. Unlike the 50 species from those four tribes, however, this species is unique in that it is the only scombrid to be classified apart from the rest, into the subfamily Gasterochismatinae and genus Gasterochisma.
The Atlantic bonito is a large mackerel-like fish of the family Scombridae. It is common in shallow waters of the Atlantic Ocean, the Mediterranean Sea, and the Black Sea, where it is an important commercial and game fish.
Scomberomorini is a tribe of ray-finned saltwater bony fishes that is commonly known as the Spanish mackerels, seerfishes or seer fish. This tribe is a subset of the mackerel family (Scombridae) – a family that it shares with three sister tribes, the tunas, mackerels, and bonitos, and the butterfly kingfish. Scomberomorini comprises 21 species across three genera. They are pelagic fish, fast swimmers and predatory in nature, that fight vigorously when caught. They are mainly caught using hooks and lines.
The little tunny, also known as the false albacore, little tuna, bonita, or erroneously as the blue bonito, is a species of tuna in the family Scombridae. It can be found in the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean and Black seas; in the western Atlantic, it ranges from Brazil to the New England states. The little tunny is a pelagic fish that can be found regularly in both offshore and inshore waters, and it is classified as a highly migratory species. The little tunny is best identified by the "worm-like" markings on its back and the dark spots appearing between its pectoral and ventral fins.
The Monterrey Spanish mackerel is a species of fish in the family Scombridae. It is endemic to Mexico where it is found in the northern part of the Gulf of California. It is the subject of a fishery, its population is declining and the IUCN has rated it as being a "vulnerable species"
The bullet tuna, Auxis rochei, is a species of tuna, in the family Scombridae, found circumglobally in tropical oceans, including the Mediterranean Sea, in open surface waters to depths of 50 m (164 ft). The population of bullet tuna in the Eastern Pacific was classified as a subspecies of A. rochei, A. rochei eudorax, but some authorities regard this as a valid species Auxis eudorax. Its maximum length is 50 centimetres (20 in).
Auxis is a genus of ocean-dwelling ray-finned bony fish in the family Scombridae, and tribe Thunnini, also known as the tunas. Auxis, commonly and collectively called the frigate tunas, is one of five genera of tunas which comprise the Thunnini tribe.
The Indian mackerel is a species of mackerel in the scombrid family of order Perciformes. It is commonly found in the Indian and West Pacific oceans, and their surrounding seas. It is an important food fish and is commonly used in South and South-East Asian cuisine.
Grammatorcynus is a genus of ray-finned bony fish in the family Scombridae. This genus together with Acanthocybium and Scomberomorus are comprised by the tribe Scomberomorini, commonly known as the Spanish mackerels or seerfishes.
The shark mackerel is a species of Spanish mackerel in the scombrid family (Scombridae). Their maximum reported length is 112 cm (44 in), and the maximum reported weight is 13.5 kg (30 lb).
The Scombrinae are a subfamily of ray-finned bony fishes in the family Scombridae. Of the 51 species in the Scombridae, 50 are in Scombrinae – with the sole exception being the butterfly kingfish, which is placed in the monospecific subfamily Gasterochismatinae.
Exocoetus volitans, commonly known as the tropical two-wing flyingfish or blue flyingfish, is a species of ray-finned fish native to tropical and subtropical seas. It can glide above the surface of the sea to escape predators.
