Common Name
Serra Spanish Mackerel
Year Described
Collette, Russo, & Zavalla-Camin, 1978
Identification
Dorsal Fin: XVII-XVIII, 15-19, followed by 8-10 finlets
Anal Fin: 16-20, followed by 8-10 finlets
Pectoral Fin: 21-23
Gill Rakers: 1-3 (upper limb), 9-13 (lower limb); 11-16 total
Vertebrae: 46-49
Body elongate and very compressed. Snout about twice eye diameter. Adipose eyelid absent. Jaw extends beyond rear margin of orbit. Teeth strong and compressed. Two short interpelvic processes. Dorsal fins almost touching. Spiny dorsal fin long with a slightly concave edge. Second dorsal and anal fin with tall anterior lobes. Pectoral fin short. Caudal fin strongly forked. Corselet not well developed. Body covered in small scales. Scales only on base of pectoral fin. Lateral line gently sloping. Two small caudal keels with a larger median keel in between them.
Color
Body silvery with a dark blue to green back. Lower sides often with a gold sheen. Flanks with numerous gold spots (increasing in number in older fish). The anterior third of the first dorsal fin is black. The pectoral, second dorsal, and caudal fins are dark. The anal and pelvic fins are pale to yellowish.
Size
Maximum size to 125cm FL. Common to 65cm FL.
Habitat
Pelagic in coastal waters and estuaries. Forms schools.
Range
Eastern Yucatan Peninsula to S. Brazil.
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.
Froese, R. and D. Pauly. Editors. 2011.FishBase. World Wide Web electronic publication. www.fishbase.org