Mackerel scad (Decapterus macarellus)

Scientific name: Decapterus macarellus Cuvier, 1833

Mackerel scad (Decapterus macarellus)

The Mackerel scad (Decapterus macarellus) is a marine fish of the family Carangidae.

Biology

Dorsal spines (total): 9; Dorsal soft rays (total): 31-36; Anal spines: 3; Anal soft rays: 27 - 30. Body elongate, slender, and somewhat circular in cross section; posterior edge of upper jaw straight dorsally, moderately rounded and oblique ventrally; edge of shoulder girdle (cleithrum) with two small papillae, the lower one larger; dorsal and anal fins each followed by a separate finlet; black metallic blue green; belly is silvery white; dorsal edge of operculum with a small black mark. Bluish green above, silvery below; yellow-green caudal fin; small black opercular spot. No dark dots on lateral line; caudal fin reddish.

Source: FishBase, licensed CC BY-NC 4.0.

Species facts

Scientific name
Decapterus macarellus
Family
Carangidae (Jacks and pompanos)
Order
Perciformes (Perch-like fish)
Class
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned fishes)
Maximum length
46.0
Common length
30.0
Depth range
0–400 m (0–1312 ft)
Environment
Marine; pelagic-oceanic; depth range 0 - 400 m, usually 40 - 200 m
Climate
Subtropical
Distribution
Circumglobal. Western Atlantic: Nova Scotia, Canada and Bermuda to approximately Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Appears to be absent from the Gulf of Mexico. Eastern Atlantic: St. Helena, Ascension, Cape Verde, and Gulf of Guinea; Azores and Madeira. Indian Ocean: Red Sea, Gulf of Aden, Seychelles, Mascarenes, South Africa, and Sri Lanka. Eastern Pacific: Gulf of California and Revillagigedo Island to Ecuador.
Conservation status (IUCN)
Not Evaluated
Threat to humans
Reports of ciguatera poisoning
Uses
Fisheries: commercial; gamefish: yes; bait: usually
Resilience
High, minimum population doubling time less than 15 months (K=0.8)

Sources

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

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