Teleostei (teleosts) >
Scombriformes (Mackerels) >
Scombridae (Mackerels, tunas, bonitos) > Scombrinae
Etymology: Sarda: Latin and Greek, sarda = sardine; name related to the island of Sardinia (Ref. 45335).
More on authors: Temminck & Schlegel.
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Marine; pelagic-neritic; oceanodromous (Ref. 51243); depth range 1 - 167 m (Ref. 58302). Subtropical; 14°C - 23°C (Ref. 168); 43°N - 41°S, 24°E - 77°W (Ref. 168)
Indo-Pacific: widespread but with many gaps in its known distribution. Eastern Pacific: Hawaiian Islands and Pacific coast of USA to southern tip of Baja California and Tres Marias Islands extending to Cabo Blanco, Peru (especially during El Niño events), the Galapagos Islands and Gulf of Guayaquil.
Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm 47.8, range 45 - ? cm
Max length : 102 cm FL male/unsexed; (Ref. 9684); common length : 55.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 55763); max. published weight: 10.7 kg (Ref. 168)
Dorsal spines (total): 17 - 19; Anal spines: 0; Anal soft rays: 14 - 16; Vertebrae: 44 - 45. Mouth moderately large. Laminae of olfactory rosette 21 to 39. Interpelvic process small and bifid. Body completely covered with very small scales posterior to the corselet. Swim bladder absent. Spleen large and prominent in ventral view. Liver with elongate left and right lobes and a short middle lobe. Back with narrow oblique stripes.
A coastal species (Ref. 9340) found schooling with small tunas. Also found around some islands (Ref. 9684). Feeds on clupeoids, other fishes, squids and decapod crustaceans. Spawning varies with the monsoon season (Ref. 9684). Also caught with troll lines, encircling nets (Ref. 9340) and drift nets (Ref. 9684). Marketed mainly fresh; also dried-salted (Ref. 9684), canned and frozen (Ref. 9987).
Collette, B.B. and C.E. Nauen, 1983. FAO Species Catalogue. Vol. 2. Scombrids of the world. An annotated and illustrated catalogue of tunas, mackerels, bonitos and related species known to date. Rome: FAO. FAO Fish. Synop. 125(2):137 p. (Ref. 168)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2024-2)
Threat to humans
Harmless
Human uses
Fisheries: minor commercial; gamefish: yes
Tools
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Internet sources
Estimates based on models
Preferred temperature (Ref.
123201): 20.5 - 29, mean 27.6 °C (based on 2552 cells).
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref.
82804): PD
50 = 0.5312 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.01000 (0.00527 - 0.01898), b=3.05 (2.89 - 3.21), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this species & (Sub)family-body (Ref.
93245).
Trophic level (Ref.
69278): 4.2 ±0.66 se; based on food items.
Generation time: 1.6 ( na - na) years. Estimated as median ln(3)/K based on 2
growth studies.
Resilience (Ref.
120179): Medium, minimum population doubling time 1.4 - 4.4 years (Assuming tm=3-4).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref.
59153): Moderate vulnerability (35 of 100).
Climate Vulnerability (Ref.
125649): High vulnerability (59 of 100).
Nutrients (Ref.
124155): Calcium = 37.8 [21.1, 63.0] mg/100g; Iron = 2.61 [1.51, 4.59] mg/100g; Protein = 20.7 [19.5, 21.8] %; Omega3 = 0.356 [0.167, 0.745] g/100g; Selenium = 32.3 [18.0, 56.1] μg/100g; VitaminA = 13.9 [5.5, 37.6] μg/100g; Zinc = 0.462 [0.350, 0.686] mg/100g (wet weight);
