Common Name
Wahoo
Year Described
Cuvier, 1832
Identification
Dorsal Fin: XXIII-XXV, 12-16, followed by 7-9 finlets
Anal Fin: 17-19, followed by 9 finlets
Pectoral Fin: 22-25
Vertebrae: 62-64
Body fusiform, very elongate, and slightly compressed. Snout very long (as long as post-orbital distance). Eye small. Adipose eyelid absent. Gill rakers absent. Jaw extends to middle of orbit. Teeth strong, triangular, and compressed. Pre-orbital bone covers posterior part of maxilla. Gas bladder well developed. Interpelvic processes present as two small flaps. Spiny dorsal fin very long and slightly incised in the middle. Second dorsal and anal fin small with tall anterior lobes. Pectoral fin half of head length and falcate. Caudal fin semilunate. Corselet not obvious; body with small scales. Lateral line with strong anterior arch. Two small caudal keels with a larger median keel in between them.
Color
Brilliant dark metallic blue or blue-green above, abruptly silvery on side and belly with a metallic blue sheen. There are 24-30 pale blue bars in the side of the body from the opercle to the caudal peduncle. Spiny dorsal blue. Soft dorsal fin and finlets dark. Caudal and pectoral fins dark. Anal fin and finlets white.
Size
Maximum size to 210cm FL.
Habitat
Offshore epipelagic, either solitary or in small groups. Feeds on fishes.
Range
Oceanic: from New Jersey to northeastern Brazil, including Bermuda, the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea.
References
Collette, B.B. 2002. Scombridae (pp 1836-1857). In: Carpenter. 2002. The living marine resources of the Western Central Atlantic. Vol. 3: Bony fishes part 2 (Opistognathidae to Molidae), sea turtles and sea mammals. FAO Species Identification Guides for Fisheries Purposes. American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists Special Publication No. 5.
McEachran, J.D. and J.D. Fechhelm. 2005. Fishes of the Gulf of Mexico. Volume 2: Scorpaeniformes to Tetraodontiformes. University of Texas Press, Austin. i-viii +1-1004.