Bluefish

The bluefish (Pomatomus saltatrix) is the only extant species of the family Pomatomidae. It is a marine pelagic fish found around the world in temperate and subtropical waters, except for the northern Pacific Ocean. Bluefish are known as tailor in Australia and New Zealand, elf and shad in South Africa. It is a popular gamefish and food fish.

This article is about the species of fish. For other uses, see Bluefish (disambiguation).

Bluefish
Scientific classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Perciformes
Family: Pomatomidae
Gill, 1863
Genus: Pomatomus
Lacépède, 1802
Species:
P. saltatrix
Binomial name
Pomatomus saltatrix
(Linnaeus, 1766)
Synonyms
  • Gasterosteus saltatrix Linnaeus, 1766
  • Cheilodipterus saltatrix (Linnaeus, 1766)
  • Perca lophar Forsskål, 1775
  • Cheilodipterus heptacanthus Lacepède, 1801
  • Pomatomus skib Lacepède, 1802
  • Gonenion serra Rafinesque, 1810
  • Lopharis mediterraneus Rafinesque, 1810
  • Scomber sypterus Pallas, 1814
  • Sypterus pallasii Eichwald, 1831
  • Chromis epicurorum Gronow, 1854
  • Temnodon conidens Castelnau, 1861
  • Sparactodon nalnal Rochebrune, 1880
  • Temnodon tubulus Saville-Kent, 1893
  • Pomatomus pedica Whitley, 1931

The bluefish is a moderately proportioned fish, with a broad, forked tail. The spiny first dorsal fin is normally folded back in a groove, as are its pectoral fins. Coloration is a grayish blue-green dorsally, fading to white on the lower sides and belly. Its single row of teeth in each jaw is uniform in size, knife-edged, and sharp. Bluefish commonly range in size from seven-inch (18-cm) "snappers" to much larger, sometimes weighing as much as 40 lb (18 kg), though fish heavier than 20 lb (9 kg) are exceptional.

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.