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Scomberesox scombroides (Richardson, 1843)

King gar
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Native range | All suitable habitat | Point map | Year 2050
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Scomberesox scombroides   AquaMaps   Data sources: GBIF OBIS
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Image of Scomberesox scombroides (King gar)
Scomberesox scombroides
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Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes(genus, species) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa

Teleostei (teleosts) > Beloniformes (Needle fishes) > Scomberesocidae (Sauries)
Etymology: Scomberesox: Latin, scomber = mackerel + Esox, the old name for "pike" (Ref. 45335);  scombroides: From manuscript on Esox scombroides, Solander, 1772..
More on author: Richardson.

Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range Ecology

Marine; brackish; pelagic-oceanic; oceanodromous (Ref. 51243); depth range 0 - ? m. Subtropical

Distribution Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Point map | Introductions | Faunafri

Atlantic, Indian and Pacific: generally circumglobal in temperate waters of the southern hemisphere. More common between 30°-40°S, but more northerly to 15°S near Africa and to near equator off Ecuador along South American west coast (particularly the young and juveniles). Highly migratory species.

Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: Lm 28.7, range 23 - 25 cm
Max length : 50.0 cm SL male/unsexed; (Ref. 6531)

Short description Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics

Dorsal spines (total): 0; Dorsal soft rays (total): 10 - 12; Anal spines: 0; Anal soft rays: 12 - 14; Vertebrae: 64 - 68. Presence of toothless bill-like jaws, and finlets posterior to the dorsal and anal fins.

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

An epipelagic, gregarious species. Occurs in surface waters of the open sea; occasionally enters bays and inlets (Ref. 9563). Flesh is highly esteemed (Ref. 6617) but large schools are too sporadic to be of commercial importance (Ref. 6531). Feeds on small planktonic organisms, preyed upon by yellowfin tuna, Cape gunnets, marine mammals. Migrates from spawning areas to cool temperate and plankton-rich waters (Ref. 36731).

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturities | Reproduction | Spawnings | Egg(s) | Fecundities | Larvae

Main reference Upload your references | References | Coordinator | Collaborators

Wisner, R.L., 1990. Scomberesocidae. p. 598-603. In J.C. Quero, J.C. Hureau, C. Karrer, A. Post and L. Saldanha (eds.) Check-list of the fishes of the eastern tropical Atlantic (CLOFETA). JNICT, Lisbon; SEI, Paris; and UNESCO, Paris. Vol. 2. (Ref. 6531)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435)

  Not Evaluated 

CITES

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

  Harmless





Human uses

Fisheries: minor commercial; bait: usually
FAO - Publication: search | FishSource |

More information

Trophic ecology
Food items
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Ecology
Ecology
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Length-weight rel.
Length-length rel.
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References

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Summary page | Point data | Common names | Photos

Internet sources

AFORO (otoliths) | Aquatic Commons | BHL | Cloffa | BOLDSystems | Websites from users | Check FishWatcher | CISTI | Catalog of Fishes: genus, species | DiscoverLife | ECOTOX | FAO - Publication: search | Faunafri | Fishipedia | Fishtrace | GenBank: genome, nucleotide | GloBI | Google Books | Google Scholar | Google | IGFA World Record | MitoFish | National databases | Otolith Atlas of Taiwan Fishes | PubMed | Reef Life Survey | Socotra Atlas | Tree of Life | Wikipedia: Go, Search | World Records Freshwater Fishing | Zoological Record

Estimates based on models

Preferred temperature (Ref. 123201): 14.2 - 21.3, mean 18.2 °C (based on 1430 cells).
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82804):  PD50 = 0.6562   [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.01122 (0.00514 - 0.02450), b=3.04 (2.87 - 3.21), in cm total length, based on all LWR estimates for this body shape (Ref. 93245).
Trophic level (Ref. 69278):  4.1   ±0.3 se; based on diet studies.
Resilience (Ref. 120179):  Medium, minimum population doubling time 1.4 - 4.4 years (tm=3).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref. 59153):  Moderate vulnerability (44 of 100).
Price category (Ref. 80766):   Unknown.