CARANX MELAMPYGUS - (CUVIER, 1833)
Picture courtesy of: Alain Daoulas
Actinopterygii (Gigaclass) > Actinopteri (Class) > Teleostei (Subclass) > Carangiformes (Order) > Carangoidei (Suborder) > Carangidae (Family) > Caranginae (Subfamily) > Caranx (Genus)
Carangue bleue, Carangue à ailes bleues, Carangue étoilée, Carangue à anale noire, Carangue chasseur, Bluefin trevally, Bluefin jack, Spotted trevally, Blue-fin trevally, Blue jack fish, Blue-finned trevally, Blauflossen-Makrele, Blauflossen Stachelmakrele, Blouvin-koningvis, Xaréu barbatana azul, Jurel aleta azul, Kasumi-aji, カスミアジ, 星点鲹, 藍鰭鰺,
Synonymes
Carangichthys melampygus (Cuvier, 1833)
Carangus melampygus (Cuvier, 1833)
Carangus quoyi (Bleeker, 1878)
Caranx bixanthopterus (Rüppell, 1836)
Caranx janthinospilos (Bleeker, 1856)
Caranx medusicola (Jordan & Starks, 1895)
Caranx melampyges (Cuvier, 1833)
Caranx moresbyensis (Macleay, 1882)
Caranx stellatus (Eydoux & Souleyet, 1850)
Caranx valenciennei (Castelnau, 1873)
Carynx melampygus (Cuvier, 1833)
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Description
Dorsal spines (total): 9; Dorsal soft rays (total): 21-24; Anal spines: 3; Anal soft rays: 17-21; Pectoral fin rays: 20; Curved lateral line scales: 55-70; Straight part of lateral line with: 0-10 anterior scales followed by: 27-42 strong scutes; Vertebrae: 10 + 14 = 24; Gill rakers (including rudiments): 5-9 + 17-21 = 25-29 (usually: 26-27); The anterior lateral line moderately curved, becoming straight below 5th-6th rays of second fin. Body oblong, compressed; Dorsal profile moderately convex to second dorsal fin, ventral profile slightly convex; Pectoral fins falcate; Breast completely scaled; Adipose eyelid weakly developed, small anteriorly, posterior adipose eyelid extends onto eye to rear border of pupil in large adults; Upper jaw with outer row of strong canines widely spaced in adults, and an inner band of small villiform teeth, widest at symphysis; Lower limb of first gill arch jaw with a single row of strong conical teeth widely spaced in adults. Max. length: 120.0 cm TL, common length: 60.0 cm TL. Max. published weight: 43.5 kg. Depth range: 0 - 190 m.
Biology
The most common trevally in coral reefs occurring singly or occasionally in schools. Adults are pelagic in coastal and oceanic waters, associated with reefs. Juveniles occur seasonally in shallow sandy inshore waters and rivers. Adults feed mainly on other fishes and crustaceans. They are often ciguatoxic when length reaches more than 50 cm. Mainly marketed fresh, but also dried or salted. They are caught primarily on hook-and-line and by spearing; Also with traps and gill nets. An excellent sports fish. Hybridizes with Caranx sexfasciatus (Quoy & Gaimard, 1825).
Actinopterygii (Gigaclass) > Actinopteri (Class) > Teleostei (Subclass) > Carangiformes (Order) > Carangoidei (Suborder) > Carangidae (Family) > Caranginae (Subfamily) > Caranx (Genus)
Carangue bleue, Carangue à ailes bleues, Carangue étoilée, Carangue à anale noire, Carangue chasseur, Bluefin trevally, Bluefin jack, Spotted trevally, Blue-fin trevally, Blue jack fish, Blue-finned trevally, Blauflossen-Makrele, Blauflossen Stachelmakrele, Blouvin-koningvis, Xaréu barbatana azul, Jurel aleta azul, Kasumi-aji, カスミアジ, 星点鲹, 藍鰭鰺,
Synonymes
Carangichthys melampygus (Cuvier, 1833)
Carangus melampygus (Cuvier, 1833)
Carangus quoyi (Bleeker, 1878)
Caranx bixanthopterus (Rüppell, 1836)
Caranx janthinospilos (Bleeker, 1856)
Caranx medusicola (Jordan & Starks, 1895)
Caranx melampyges (Cuvier, 1833)
Caranx moresbyensis (Macleay, 1882)
Caranx stellatus (Eydoux & Souleyet, 1850)
Caranx valenciennei (Castelnau, 1873)
Carynx melampygus (Cuvier, 1833)
----------------------------
Description
Dorsal spines (total): 9; Dorsal soft rays (total): 21-24; Anal spines: 3; Anal soft rays: 17-21; Pectoral fin rays: 20; Curved lateral line scales: 55-70; Straight part of lateral line with: 0-10 anterior scales followed by: 27-42 strong scutes; Vertebrae: 10 + 14 = 24; Gill rakers (including rudiments): 5-9 + 17-21 = 25-29 (usually: 26-27); The anterior lateral line moderately curved, becoming straight below 5th-6th rays of second fin. Body oblong, compressed; Dorsal profile moderately convex to second dorsal fin, ventral profile slightly convex; Pectoral fins falcate; Breast completely scaled; Adipose eyelid weakly developed, small anteriorly, posterior adipose eyelid extends onto eye to rear border of pupil in large adults; Upper jaw with outer row of strong canines widely spaced in adults, and an inner band of small villiform teeth, widest at symphysis; Lower limb of first gill arch jaw with a single row of strong conical teeth widely spaced in adults. Max. length: 120.0 cm TL, common length: 60.0 cm TL. Max. published weight: 43.5 kg. Depth range: 0 - 190 m.
Color
Juveniles and young adults, head and body silvery grey and fins pale to dark dusky, except pectoral fins yellow.
Adults with head and dorsal half of body brassy, suffused with blue, and covered with small blue black spots (forming at about 16-22 cm Fork Length and increasing in number with size); Second dorsal, anal, and caudal fins electric blue.
Etymology
Caranx: from French, carangue, the name of a Caribbean fish. Philibert Commerson (1727-1773) was a French explorer and naturalist, he says he derived the name caranx from the Greek word meaning head, and justifies this etymology, because these fishes, according to him, prevail by the head (quia capite prœvalent), and because the saurel (se. trachurus) exerts a kind of tyranny on the fishes of the coasts (principatum et tyrannidem exercet inter littorales pisces). These are singular reasons, and one has all the more reason to be surprised that a man such as Commerson had recourse to them, as he had certainly not been looking for his name so far. More than a century before him, the French colonists of the West Indies called the species of this kind that they caught on their coasts carangue: We can be sure of this by the testimony of Dutertre, Rochefort, Plumier and Labat; And as there is no appearance that the first and ignorant inhabitants of our islands had the idea of making up a Greek name for an American fish, there is every reason to believe that they simply corrupted into carangue the name of acarauna, used in Brazil and among the Spanish and Portuguese colonists for several chetodons and other very compressed fish. The name of carangue is nowadays general among our French sailors for fishes of the present kind that are caught in the torrid zone, and especially for those of a high shape; And Commerson himself tells us that no other name is used at Isle-de-France. It even seems, according to Duhamel, that this name was brought to Europe by sailors, and that in some places of our coasts it is given to the ordinary saurel; Finally, Barbot already has it, and disguises it as corango. Histoire naturelle des poissons par Mr Georges Cuvier et par Mr Valenciennes Tome neuvième, 1833.
melampygus: from Latin, mela = black + from Greek, pyge = rump, buttocks. Referring to black anal fin (actually electric blue in life).
Original description: Caranx melampygus Cuvier, 1833 - Type localities: Waigeo, Indonesia; Rawak Island, Bismarck Archipelago; Buru, Molucca Islands, Indonesia; Vanikoro, Santa Cruz Islands; Mauritius, Mascarenes.
Distribution
Red Sea; Indo-Pacific: Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal (South Africa), East Africa, Socotra (Yemen), Persian Gulf, Seychelles, Comoros, Mozambique Channel, Madagascar and Mascarenes (La Réunion, Mauritius, Rodrigues), east to Hawaiian Islands (U.S.A.), north to Izu Islands and Ogasawara Islands (Japan), south to Dampier Archipelago (Western Australia), New South Wales (Australia), New Caledonia, Norfolk Island (Australia) and Rapa (French Polynesia).
Juveniles and young adults, head and body silvery grey and fins pale to dark dusky, except pectoral fins yellow.
Adults with head and dorsal half of body brassy, suffused with blue, and covered with small blue black spots (forming at about 16-22 cm Fork Length and increasing in number with size); Second dorsal, anal, and caudal fins electric blue.
Etymology
Caranx: from French, carangue, the name of a Caribbean fish. Philibert Commerson (1727-1773) was a French explorer and naturalist, he says he derived the name caranx from the Greek word meaning head, and justifies this etymology, because these fishes, according to him, prevail by the head (quia capite prœvalent), and because the saurel (se. trachurus) exerts a kind of tyranny on the fishes of the coasts (principatum et tyrannidem exercet inter littorales pisces). These are singular reasons, and one has all the more reason to be surprised that a man such as Commerson had recourse to them, as he had certainly not been looking for his name so far. More than a century before him, the French colonists of the West Indies called the species of this kind that they caught on their coasts carangue: We can be sure of this by the testimony of Dutertre, Rochefort, Plumier and Labat; And as there is no appearance that the first and ignorant inhabitants of our islands had the idea of making up a Greek name for an American fish, there is every reason to believe that they simply corrupted into carangue the name of acarauna, used in Brazil and among the Spanish and Portuguese colonists for several chetodons and other very compressed fish. The name of carangue is nowadays general among our French sailors for fishes of the present kind that are caught in the torrid zone, and especially for those of a high shape; And Commerson himself tells us that no other name is used at Isle-de-France. It even seems, according to Duhamel, that this name was brought to Europe by sailors, and that in some places of our coasts it is given to the ordinary saurel; Finally, Barbot already has it, and disguises it as corango. Histoire naturelle des poissons par Mr Georges Cuvier et par Mr Valenciennes Tome neuvième, 1833.
melampygus: from Latin, mela = black + from Greek, pyge = rump, buttocks. Referring to black anal fin (actually electric blue in life).
Original description: Caranx melampygus Cuvier, 1833 - Type localities: Waigeo, Indonesia; Rawak Island, Bismarck Archipelago; Buru, Molucca Islands, Indonesia; Vanikoro, Santa Cruz Islands; Mauritius, Mascarenes.
Distribution
Red Sea; Indo-Pacific: Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal (South Africa), East Africa, Socotra (Yemen), Persian Gulf, Seychelles, Comoros, Mozambique Channel, Madagascar and Mascarenes (La Réunion, Mauritius, Rodrigues), east to Hawaiian Islands (U.S.A.), north to Izu Islands and Ogasawara Islands (Japan), south to Dampier Archipelago (Western Australia), New South Wales (Australia), New Caledonia, Norfolk Island (Australia) and Rapa (French Polynesia).
Eastern Pacific: Pacific coast of southern Baja California Sur (Mexico) south to Colombia, including southern Gulf of California (Mexico), Clipperton Island (France) and Galapagos Islands (Ecuador).
Biology
The most common trevally in coral reefs occurring singly or occasionally in schools. Adults are pelagic in coastal and oceanic waters, associated with reefs. Juveniles occur seasonally in shallow sandy inshore waters and rivers. Adults feed mainly on other fishes and crustaceans. They are often ciguatoxic when length reaches more than 50 cm. Mainly marketed fresh, but also dried or salted. They are caught primarily on hook-and-line and by spearing; Also with traps and gill nets. An excellent sports fish. Hybridizes with Caranx sexfasciatus (Quoy & Gaimard, 1825).
Similar species
Caranx papuensis (Alleyne & Macleay, 1877) - Reported from New Caledonia - Link to the species (here).
Last update: 5, March 2023