A barracuda 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.
Bonitos are a tribe of medium-sized, ray-finned predatory fish in the family Scombridae – a family it shares with the mackerel, tuna, and Spanish mackerel tribes, and also the butterfly kingfish. Also called the tribe Sardini, it consists of eight species across four genera; three of those four genera are monotypic, having a single species each. Bonitos closely resemble the skipjack tuna, which is often called a bonito, especially in Japanese contexts.
The Carangidae are a family of ray-finned fish that includes the jacks, pompanos, jack mackerels, runners, trevallies, and scads. It is the largest of the six families included within the order Carangiformes. Some authorities classify it as the only family within that order but molecular and anatomical studies indicate that there is a close relationship between this family and the five former Perciform families which make up the Carangiformes.
Thyrsites atun, known as the snoek in South Africa and as the barracouta in Australasia, is a long, thin species of snake mackerel found in the seas of the Southern Hemisphere, and a popular food fish in South Africa, particularly along the west and southwest coast. Despite its Australasian name, it is not closely related to the barracuda.
The escolar, Lepidocybium flavobrunneum, a species of fish in the family Gempylidae, is found in deep tropical and temperate waters around the world. It is also known as snake mackerel, walu walu, and is sometimes sold as "butterfish" or "white tuna".
Oilfish are a species of snake mackerel with a cosmopolitan distribution in tropical and temperate oceans. They can be found at depths from 100 to 800 metres, but most often between 200 and 400 metres. Oilfish can grow to a length of 3 metres (9.8 ft), though most do not exceed 1.5 metres (4.9 ft). It is the only known member of its genus.
The moonfish of the genus Mene, the sole extant genus of the family Menidae, are disk-shaped fish which bear a vague resemblance to gourami, thanks to their thread-like pelvic fins. Today, the genus is represented only by Mene maculata of the Indo-Pacific, where it is a popular food fish, especially in the Philippines, where it is known as bilong-bilong, chabita, hiwas or tahas.
The Domine is a tropical species of snake mackerel found in all oceans at depths of from 176 to 488 metres. This species can reach a length of 100 centimetres (3.3 ft) SL, though most do not exceed 45 centimetres (18 in).
Scomber is a genus of fish in the family Scombridae living in the open ocean found in Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Ocean. The genus Scomber and the genus Rastrelliger comprise the tribe Scombrini, known as the "true mackerels". These fishes have an elongated body, highly streamlined, muscular and agile. The eyes are large, the head is elongated, with a big mouth provided with teeth. They have two triangular dorsal fins, with some stabilizing fins along the caudal peduncle. The basic color is blue-green with a silvery white belly and a darker back, usually black mottled.
Euzaphlegidae is a family of extinct escolar-like fish closely related to the snake mackerels. Fossils of euzaphlegids are found from Paleocene to Late Miocene-aged marine strata of Europe, the Caucasus Mountains, India, Iran, Turkmenistan, Italy, and Southern California.
Euzaphleges longurio is an extinct, superficially mackerel-like fish related to the escolar and snake mackerels. Euzaphleges was found off the coast of what is now California during the late Miocene. It was smaller than the very similar Thyrsocles and longer and more slender than Zaphlegulus, which also lived at the same time. It was much longer than the poorly known Trossulus.
Aeoliscoides is an extinct genus of prehistoric ray-finned fish that lived from the early Eocene. It is known from a single species, A. longirostris, from the famous Monte Bolca site of Italy. It was a member of Centriscidae, making it a relative of modern shrimpfish and snipefish. Its name references its close resemblance to the extant shrimpfish genus Aeoliscus.
The snake mackerel is the sole species of fish in the monotypic genus Gempylus, belonging to the family Gempylidae. It is found worldwide in tropical and subtropical oceans between the latitudes of 42°N and 40°S; adults are known to stray into temperate waters. It is found to a depth of 600 meters. Populations of the snake mackerel from the Atlantic and the Indo-Pacific differ in vertebral count and number of first dorsal fin spines, and so may represent separate species.
Palimphyes is an extinct genus of prehistoric euzaphlegid bony fish related to the escolars and snake mackerels. The various species lived as deepwater mesopelagic predators in the Tethys and Paratethys oceans, with fossils of ten species found in Paleocene to Oligocene strata of the Swiss Alps, the Carpathian and Caucasus Mountains, Iran, India, and Turkmenistan.
Rexea is a genus of snake mackerels found in the Indian and Pacific oceans. It feeds on fishes, crustaceans and cephalopods.
Rexichthys johnpaxtoni, the Paxton's escolar, is a species of snake mackerel found in the western Pacific Ocean from around Australia and New Caledonia where it is found at depths of from 270 to 470 metres. This species grows to a length of 22 centimetres (8.7 in) SL. This species is the only known member of its genus, the specific name honours John R. Paxton, a curator of the collection of fishes of the Australian Museum in Sydney.
Tentoriceps is a monotypic genus of cutlassfish, family Trichiuridae, from the Indian and Pacific Oceans. The sole species is Tentoriceps cristatus. Its common name is crested hairtail.
Eupleurogrammus is a genus of cutlassfish from the Indo-Pacific region. They are benthopelagic fishes which occur mainly over the continental shelf where they move upwards in the water column towards the surface at night and feed on small fishes, squid and crustaceans. They have very elongated and highly compressed bodies which tapers towards a posterior point.
Lepturacanthus is a genus of cutlassfish from the Indo-Pacific region. They are benthopelagic species of waters over the continental shelf, it is a predator of a variety of small coastal fishes, squid and crustaceans.
Scombriformes is an order of bony fish containing nine families which were classified under the suborders Scombroidei and Stromateoidei, of the wider grouping known as Perciformes, Fishes of the World, 5th ed. (2016), recognised the order but subsequent workers have suggested that Scombriformes forms part of the larger Pelagiaria clade.
