Rachycentron Kaup, 1826
Diagnosis: body elongate, subcylindrical; head broad and depressed. Mouth large, lower jaw projecting; bands of short, conical teeth on jaws, vomer, palatines and tongue. D VII-VIII (IX) + 30-31, spines strong, short, isolated; A III + 20-23; pectoral fins pointed; caudal fin rounded in young, lunate in adults, upper lobe longer than lower. Scales small. Lateral line wavy anteriorly. Colour: dark brown on back, silvery white below; horizontal brown band along each side, white-edged above and below, fading with age. Size: to 2 m SL, usually 80-100 cm.
Habitat: pelagic, also inshore. Gregarious or solitary. Food: fishes, crabs, shrimps and squids. Reproduction: the period is presumed to differ according to the region (from April through October in Gulf of Mexico). Eggs pelagic.
Distribution: Reported from Morocco and the eastern Mediterranean (Israel). Elsewhere, worldwide in subtropical and tropical seas, except for eastern Pacific.
Species 1.
Species of this genus in the program:
Rachycentron canadum