Author: Klunzinger, 1884
Sphyraena chrysotaenia Klunzinger, 1884
Status in World Register of Marine Species:
Accepted name: Sphyraena chrysotaenia Klunzinger, 1884 (updated 2009-06-25)
Diagnosis: body oblong, jaws elongate, lower jaw projecting; strong canine-like teeth; 2 long gillrakers, one of them in angle of upper and lower arch. Preoperculum fully scaled, lower posterior edge concave. Pelvic fins inserted in front of first dorsal fin; pectoral fins above pelvic fins, their tips extending beyond origin of first dorsal fin. Lateral line with 82-86 scales, 9-10 scales above lateral line, 15-16 before first dorsal fin origin. Colour: brown-grey above, silvery below; tips of first dorsal and caudal fins blackish, second dorsal, pectoral and caudal fins yellowish. Size: to 32 cm SL, usually 20-25 cm.
Habitat: water column, both pelagic and demersal zones in inshore waters. Food: fish, mostly Sardinella aurita and Engraulis encrasicolus. Reproduction: no data. Commercial importance: caught in considerable quantities in inshore waters by purse-seine, gillnet and trawl.
Distribution: eastern Mediterranean (Israel, Lebanon and Egypt). Elsewhere, in Indo-Pacific, from Red Sea, Persian Gulf and East Africa throughout Indian Ocean to Australia and Japan.
Eggs, larvae and young stages. No data.
Otoliths (sagitta). No data.