Author: Quoy and Gaimard, 1824
Elagatis bipinnulata Quoy and Gaimard, 1824
Status in World Register of Marine Species:
Accepted name: Elagatis bipinnulata (Quoy and Gaimard, 1825) (updated 2009-06-25)
Diagnosis: upper jaw ending distinctly before eye (to below anterior margin of eye in young). Teeth in both jaws minute, in a broad band anteriorly, tapering posteriorly. Dorsal fin VI + I + 25-30; anal fin I (completely embedded in large fish) + I + 18-22; terminal 2-rayed finlet without inter-radial membranes, present in dorsal and anal fins; soft anal fin base distinctly shorter than soft dorsal fin base; pectoral and pelvic fins approximately equal in length; caudal peduncle grooves present. Lateral line slightly arched above pectoral fins, becoming straight posteriorly; no scutes. Colour: dark olive blue to green above and white below, two narrow light blue stripes along each side with a broader olive or yellowish stripe between them. Size: to 107 cm (possibly to 120 cm) fork length, common to 80 cm.
Habitat: pelagic, usually found at or near the surface, over reefs or sometimes far offshore; may form sizable schools. Food: invertebrates and small fishes. Reproduction: see family.
Distribution: apparently rare in the eastern Atlantic, and in Mediterranean only 8-10 specimens taken off Genoa (Sassi, 1846). Elsewhere, a few records from the Gulf of Guinea; nearly cosmopolitan in tropical seas.
Eggs, larvae and young stages. No data.
Otoliths (sagitta). No data.