Cape horse mackerel (Trachurus capensis)

Scientific name: Trachurus capensis Castelnau, 1861

Cape horse mackerel (Trachurus capensis)

The Cape horse mackerel (Trachurus capensis) is a marine fish of the family Carangidae.

Biology

Mainly over the continental shelf, often over sand bottoms. Shoals rise to feed in surface waters at night and found close to the bottom during the day. Juveniles feed mainly on copepods while adults prey on fish and a wide range of invertebrates.

Source: FishBase, licensed CC BY-NC 4.0.

Species facts

Scientific name
Trachurus capensis
Family
Carangidae (Jacks and pompanos)
Order
Perciformes (Perch-like fish)
Class
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned fishes)
Maximum length
60.0
Common length
30.0
Depth range
0–500 m (0–1640 ft)
Environment
Marine; pelagic-neritic; depth range 0 - 500 m, usually 100 - 300 m
Climate
Subtropical
Distribution
Eastern Atlantic: Gulf of Guinea to South Africa. Bianchi et. al. 1993 notes 'Smith-Vaniz (1992, pers. comm.) does not believe that Trachurus capensis is a valid species but admits that an adequate series of this species along the coast of Africa are not available'.
Conservation status (IUCN)
Not Evaluated
Threat to humans
Harmless
Uses
Fisheries: highly commercial
Resilience
Medium, minimum population doubling time 1.4 - 4.4 years (K=0.11-0.42; tm=2)

Sources

Taxonomy, distribution and biology data: FishBase (Froese, R. and D. Pauly, eds.), licensed CC BY-NC 4.0.

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