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 mahi-mahi or common dolphinfish is a surface-dwelling ray-finned fish found in off-shore temperate, tropical, and subtropical waters worldwide. Also widely called dorado and dolphin, it is one of two members of the family Coryphaenidae, the other being the pompano dolphinfish. These fish are most commonly found in the waters around the Gulf of Mexico, Costa Rica, Hawaii and the Indian Ocean.
Hemiramphidae is a family of fishes that are commonly called halfbeaks, spipe fish or spipefish. They are a geographically widespread and numerically abundant family of epipelagic fish inhabiting warm waters around the world. The halfbeaks are named for their distinctive jaws, in which the lower jaws are significantly longer than the upper jaws. The similar viviparous halfbeaks have often been included in this family.
Needlefish or long toms are piscivorous fishes primarily associated with very shallow marine habitats or the surface of the open sea. Some genera include species found in marine, brackish, and freshwater environments, while a few genera are confined to freshwater rivers and streams, including Belonion, Potamorrhaphis, and Xenentodon. Needlefish closely resemble North American freshwater gars in being elongated and having long, narrow jaws filled with sharp teeth, and some species of needlefishes are referred to as gars or garfish despite being only distantly related to the true gars. In fact, the name "garfish" was originally used for the needlefish Belone belone in Europe and only later applied to the North American fishes by European settlers during the 18th century.
The Atlantic horse mackerel, also known as the European horse mackerel or common scad, is a species of jack mackerel in the family Carangidae, which includes the jacks, pompanos and trevallies. It is found in the eastern Atlantic Ocean off Europe and Africa and into the south-eastern Indian Ocean. It is an important species in commercial fisheries and is listed as a Vulnerable species on The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
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.
Pelagic fish live in the pelagic zone of ocean or lake waters—being neither close to the bottom nor near the shore—in contrast with demersal fish that live on or near the bottom, and reef fish that are associated with coral reefs.
The Atlantic saury is a fish of the family Scomberesocidae found in the North Atlantic Ocean from the Gulf of Saint Lawrence, Canada south to Bermuda and North Carolina in the western Atlantic and from Iceland to Morocco in the eastern Atlantic, it is also found in the Mediterranean Sea, the Adriatic Sea and the Aegean Sea.
Xenentodon cancila, the freshwater garfish, is a species of needlefish found in freshwater and brackish habitats in South and Southeast Asia.
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.
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.
Belone is a genus of needlefish common in brackish and marine waters. It is one of ten genera in the family Belonidae.
Coastal fish, also called inshore fish or neritic fish, inhabit the sea between the shoreline and the edge of the continental shelf. Since the continental shelf is usually less than 200 metres (660 ft) deep, it follows that pelagic coastal fish are generally epipelagic fish, inhabiting the sunlit epipelagic zone. Coastal fish can be contrasted with oceanic fish or offshore fish, which inhabit the deep seas beyond the continental shelves.
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.
Trachinotus ovatus, the pompano which is also known as the derbio or silverfish, is a species of ray-finned fish in the family Carangidae, the jacks. It has large, strong fins. It is common in the Mediterranean Sea, and in the Atlantic Ocean from the British Isles and Scandinavia, where it is a vagrant, to the Gulf of Guinea and Angola.
The sand smelt is a species of marine fish of the family Atherinidae, common in the northeastern Atlantic from the Danish straits, where it is rare, and Scotland to the Canary Islands and the western Mediterranean Sea. Sand smelt are small, pelagic fishes which are found in coastal areas and in estuaries. They are a schooling species which undertake seasonal migrations in the Atlantic. They are carnivorous and prey on small crustaceans and fish larvae. Reproduction takes place in the spring and summer, in the North Sea and the English Channel spawning takes place over midsummer.
The thinlip mullet is a species of fish in the family Mugilidae. It is found in shallow European waters and is a migratory species.
The short-beaked garfish is an uncommon species of needlefish in marine waters of the eastern Atlantic Ocean. This pelagic needlefish is present off the coasts of Ireland, Spain, Portugal, and the United Kingdom, and possibly in the Mediterranean Sea, as well. This species was thought to be the same as the garfish because they share the same waters. The short-beaked garfish matures at 30 cm (12 in) and can grow to a maximum of 65 cm (26 in) while Belone belone can be 95 cm (38 in). Like all needlefish, this one has an elongated body with beak-like jaws that are lined with razor sharp teeth. The short-beaked garfish's lower jaw is longer than the upper. Its body is silvery like most needlefish and has a black stripe running across its lateral line. The dorsal and anal fins are very close to the caudal peduncle. These fish are oviparous. Eggs may be found attached to objects in the water by tendrils on the egg's surface. These spherical eggs are dispersed on the sea floor (demersal). Not much is known about this fish's feeding habits. It likely preys on small oceangoing fish. It has been caught using mackerel. Needlefish tend to be surface fish, so are preyed upon like Atlantic mackerel, European pilchard, sand smelt, etc. The specific name honours Anatolii Nikolaevich Svetovidov (1903-1985) who was an ichthyologist at the Zoological Institute in Saint Petersburg, Russia and a colleague of N.V. Parin.
Belone euxini is a species of needlefish which is endemic to the Black Sea, Sea of Azov and Sea of Marmara. Many authorities treat this taxon as a subspecies of Belone belone.
Strongylura strongylura, the spottail needlefish or blackspot longtom, is a species of needlefish from the family Belonidae. It is found in the Indian and western Pacific Oceans from the Persian Gulf east to Australia and the Philippines. This species occurs in coastal waters and in mangrove-lined lagoons as well as being recorded in estuarine areas and it has even entered freshwater. Living S. strongylura have been found alive and buried in mud during low tide. It is piscivorous, feeding mainly on clupeoids. This species is oviparous and the eggs adhere to objects in the water which catch the tendrils which cover the surface of the egg. Strongylura strongylura under the synonym of Strongylura caudimaculata is the type species of the genus Strongylura. It as originally described as Belone strongylura by Johan Coenraad van Hasselt in 1823 with the type locality given as Vizagapatam, India.
