Author: Linnaeus, 1758
Coryphaena hippurus Linnaeus, 1758
Status in World Register of Marine Species:
Accepted name: Coryphaena hippurus Linnaeus, 1758 (updated 2009-06-25)
Diagnosis: greatest body depth in adults less than 25% of SL; young fish (up to 30 cm) have a slender, elongate body with head profile slightly convex; in larger males (30-200 cm) head profile becomes vertical with development of bony crest. Tooth patch on tongue small and oval. Dorsal finrays 58-66; a concave anal fin, extending from anus almost to caudal fin; pectoral fin more than half of head length. Lateral line scales 200 or more. Vertebrae 31. Colour: back a brilliant metallic blue-green. Juveniles with only tips of caudal lobes unpigmented; pelvic fins black. Size: to 200 cm, common to 100 cm.
Habitat: pelagic, inhabiting open waters but also approaching the coast. Behaviour: follows ships and forms small concentrations below floating objects. Food: primarily epipelagic fishes but also crustaceans and squids. Reproduction: pelagic eggs and larvae.
Distribution: in the Mediterranean and from north-western Spain southwards. Elsewhere worldwide in tropical and subtropical seas.
Eggs, larvae and young stages. Lütken, 1880: 483, 597, pl. 3 (fig. 12-13) | Sanzo, 1931: 72 | Padoa, 1956: 532, fig. 371-373 | Gibbs and Collette, 1959: 117, fig. 1-2A-B.
Otoliths (sagitta). Chaine, 1958: 157, pl. II | Bauzá-Rullán, 1962: 9, pl. III.