Author: Agassiz in Spix and Agassiz, 1831
Caranx latus Agassiz in Spix and Agassiz, 1831
Status in World Register of Marine Species:
Accepted name: Caranx latus Agassiz, 1831 (updated 2009-06-25)
Diagnosis: well-developed adipose eyelid, more extensive posteriorly. Upper jaw with an irregular series of moderate to strong canines flanked by an inner band; teeth in lower jaw essentially in a single row. Gillrakers (including rudiments) 6-7 upper, 16-18 lower on first gill arch. Shoulder girdle (cleithrum) margin smooth, without papillae. Dorsal fin VIII + I + 19-22; anal fin II + I + 16-18; terminal ray of dorsal and anal fins closely positioned to adjacent ray and completely attached by interradial membrane; height of spinous dorsal fin distinctly shorter than length of soft dorsal fin lobe, dorsal lobe shorter than head length, contained about 5.6-6.0 times in fork length. Straight lateral line with 32-39 scutes; chest completely scaled. Colour: body dark blue to bluishgrey above, silvery white to golden below, with dorsal fin lobe and sometimes posterior scutes black or dark. Size: to at least 80 cm total length, common to 50 cm fork length.
Habitat: most common around islands, offshore and along sandy beaches; enters brackish water and ascends rivers, usually occurs in small schools. Food: primarily fish, also shrimps and other invertebrates. Reproduction: see family.
Distribution: apparently rare in the eastern Atlantic; reported (Maul, 1948) from Madeira under the name Caranx sexfasciatus, a closely related Indo-Pacific species; also known in the Gulf of Guinea from a single confirmed record. Elsewhere, in the western Atlantic from New Jersey to Rio de Janeiro (Brazil).