Author: (Lacepède, 1802)
Scomberomorus commerson (Lacepède, 1802)
Status in World Register of Marine Species:
Accepted name: Scomberomorus commerson (Lacepède, 1800) (updated 2009-06-25)
Diagnosis: a very large species with a prominent dip in the lateral line under the second dorsal fin, few vertebrae (42-46), and few gillrakers, (O-2) + (1-8) = 3-8. Dorsal spines 15-18, usually 16-17; dorsal and anal finlets 8-11, usually 9 or10; and pectoral finrays 21-24, usually 22. Colour: back iridescent blue-grey, sides silver, marked with numerous wavy vertical bands. Size: to 220 cm fork length, common to 60-90 cm.
Habitat: epipelagic in coastal waters of depths between 15 and 200 m. Found in small schools, migratory. Food: small schooling fishes such as sardines and anchovies. Reproduction: eggs and larvae planktonic.
Distribution: a recent immigrant to the eastern Mediterranean Sea by way of the Suez Canal; known from two specimens from Lebanon and several from Israel. Elsewhere, widespread throughout the western IndoPacific from the Red Sea and South Africa east through the IndoAustralian Archipelago to Fiji and north to China, Taiwan and Japan.
Eggs, larvae and young stages. No data.
Otoliths (sagitta). No data.