Thunnus
Thunnus is a genus of ocean-dwelling, ray-finned bony fish from the mackerel family, Scombridae. More specifically, Thunnus is one of five genera which make up the tribe Thunnini – a tribe that is collectively known as the tunas. Also called the true tunas or real tunas, Thunnus consists of eight species of tuna (more than half of the overall tribe), divided into two subgenera.
| True tunas Temporal range: | |
|---|---|
| Yellowfin tuna | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Scombriformes |
| Family: | Scombridae |
| Tribe: | Thunnini |
| Genus: | Thunnus South, 1845 |
| Type species | |
| Scomber thynnus Linnaeus, 1758 | |
| Subgenus | |
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| Synonyms | |
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Their coloring, metallic blue on top and shimmering silver-white on the bottom, helps camouflage them from above and below. Atlantic bluefin tuna, the largest member of this genus, can grow to 15 feet (4.6 m) long and weigh up to 1,500 pounds (680 kg). All tunas are extremely strong, muscular swimmers, and the yellowfin tuna is known to reach speeds of up to 50 miles per hour (80 km/h) when pursuing prey. As with all tunas, members of this genus are warm-blooded, which is a rare trait among fish; this enables them to tolerate cold waters and to dive to deeper depths. Bluefin tunas, for example, are found in Newfoundland and Iceland, and also in the tropical waters of the Gulf of Mexico and the Mediterranean Sea, where some individuals go each year to spawn.
Due to overfishing, the range of this genus has declined significantly, having been effectively extirpated from the Black Sea, for example.