Mitsukurina is a genus of mackerel shark in the family Mitsukurinidae. It contains one extant species, the goblin shark (M. owstoni) and more extinct species. The genus was described by American ichthyologist David Starr Jordan in 1898 and named in honour of Kakichi Mitsukuri.
Opahs, also commonly known as moonfish, sunfish, kingfish, redfin ocean pan, and Jerusalem haddock, are large, colorful, deep-bodied pelagic lampriform fishes comprising the small family Lampridae.
The Pacific jack mackerel, also known as the Californian jack mackerel or simply jack mackerel, is an abundant species of pelagic marine fish in the jack family, Carangidae. The species is distributed along the western coast of North America, ranging from Alaska in the north to the Gulf of California in the south, inhabiting both offshore and inshore environments. The Pacific jack mackerel is a moderately large fish, growing to a maximum recorded length of 81 cm, although commonly seen below 55 cm. It is very similar in appearance to other members of its genus, Trachurus, especially Trachurus murphyi, which was once thought to be a subspecies of T. symmetricus, and inhabits waters further south. Pacific jack mackerel travel in large schools, ranging up to 600 miles offshore and to depths of 400 m, generally moving through the upper part of the water column.
The Gempylidae are a family of perciform fishes, commonly known as snake mackerels or escolars. The family includes about 25 species.
Sarda chiliensis, the eastern Pacific bonito, is a marine species of bonito. It ranges from Ecuador to Chile. Sarda lineolata, which ranges from Alaska to Mexico was formerly considered a subspecies, as Sarda chiliensis lineolata, but this treatment renders the species geographically disjunct.
A piscivore is a carnivorous animal that eats primarily fish. Piscivorous is equivalent to the Greek-derived word ichthyophagous. Fish were the diet of early tetrapods (amphibians); insectivory came next, then in time, reptiles added herbivory.
Otodus is an extinct genus of mackerel shark which lived from the Paleocene to the Pliocene epoch. The name Otodus comes from Ancient Greek ὠτ and ὀδούς – thus, "ear-shaped tooth".
Meleagridinae is a North American subfamily of birds in the family Phasianidae. It includes turkeys and their extinct relatives.
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.
Laytonia is an extinct genus of prehistoric halosaur that lived in deep water off the North American Pacific Coast from the Zemorrian Epoch until during the Upper Miocene subepoch, when tectonic uplift effectively destroyed the genus' habitat by making the deep water too shallow.
Tunita is an extinct genus of prehistoric mackerel that lived during the Upper Miocene subepoch of Southern California.
Lompoquia retropes is an extinct marine drumfish that lived what is now Southern California during the Upper Miocene subepoch.
Ioscion morgani is an extinct prehistoric bony fish that lived during the Upper Miocene subepoch of what is now Southern California. It is primarily known from incomplete fossils, such as the holotype, which consists of a broken backbone. Although the head is unknown, enough of the animal's anatomy suggests a relationship with the jackfishes of Carangidae.
Lophar miocaenus is an extinct bony fish almost identical in form to the living bluefish, Pomatomus saltatrix, differing in its dentition, which consisted of "thick, conical subequal teeth" instead of the sharp, slender teeth and canines seen in bluefish. L. miocaenus lived during the Upper Miocene subepoch of Southern California.
Lampris zatima is the oldest known opah of the genus Lampris, from the Late Miocene of Southern California. Its fossil record is rather poor, known primarily from isolated vertebral columns, and a few headless specimens. Alive, it is estimated to have been around 20 to 30 centimeters long.
The Atka mackerel is a mackerel in the family Hexagrammidae. Atka mackerel are common to the northern Pacific ocean, and are one of only two members of the genus Pleurogrammus - the other being the Arabesque greenling. The Atka mackerel was named for Atka Island, the largest island of the Andreanof islands, a branch of the Aleutians.
Mackerel is an important food fish that is consumed worldwide. As an oily fish, it is a rich source of omega-3 fatty acids. The flesh of mackerel spoils quickly, especially in the tropics, and can cause scombroid food poisoning. Accordingly, it should be eaten on the day of capture, unless properly refrigerated or cured.
Araeosteus rothi is an extinct bony fish closely related to the modern-day prowfish, Zaprora silenus. A. rothi is found in Late Miocene marine strata of Southern California, primarily the Diatom Beds of Lompoc and the Santa Monica Mountains.
Isurus planus, also known as the hooked-tooth mako shark or hooked mako shark, is an extinct lamnid that lived during the Miocene epoch from 23 to 5 million years ago. I. planus can be found only in marine deposits on the Pacific Rim, especially the west coast of the United States. Teeth belonging to I. planus can reach lengths of 2.0 in (5.0 cm), and are often found in the Temblor Formation of Bakersfield, California.
