Scombridae
Scombridae is a family of fish. It includes mackerel, tuna and bonito. The family includes many of the most important and well known fish that people eat. The family has 51 species in 15 genera and two subfamilies. The subfamily Scombrinae contains all the fish in the family except the butterfly kingfish. It is the only member of the subfamily Gasterochismatinae.[1]
| Scombridae | |
|---|---|
| |
| Yellowfin tuna, Thunnus albacares | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Scombriformes |
| Suborder: | Scombroidei |
| Family: | Scombridae Rafinesque, 1815 |
| Subfamilies | |
Scombrids have two dorsal fins and many finlets behind the rear dorsal fin and anal fin. The caudal fin is divided and rigid. It has a thin, ridged base. The lengths of the fish in this family vary. The island mackerel is the smallest at 20 cm (7.9 in). The largest recorded length is 4.58 m (15.0 ft) for an Atlantic bluefin tuna.
Scombrids are usually predators. They are found in tropical and temperate waters. The fish can move very quickly. Some members of the family are partially endothermic (warm-blooded). This helps them to maintain high speed and activity. Other adaptations include a large amount of red muscle. It lets them to maintain activity over long periods of time. Scombrids like the yellowfin tuna can move as fast as 22 km/hr (14 mph).[2]
References
- ↑ Orrell, T.M.; Collette, B.B; Johnson, G.D. (2006). "Molecular data support separate Scombroid and Xiphioid Clades" (PDF). Bulletin of Marine Science. 79 (3): 505–519. Retrieved 28 October 2012.[dead link]
- ↑ Svendsen, Morten B. S.; Domenici, Paolo; Marras, Stefano; Krause, Jens; Boswell, Kevin M.; Rodriguez-Pinto, Ivan; Wilson, Alexander D. M.; Kurvers, Ralf H. J. M.; Viblanc, Paul E.; Finger, Jean S.; Steffensen, John F. (2016-10-15). "Maximum swimming speeds of sailfish and three other large marine predatory fish species based on muscle contraction time and stride length: a myth revisited". Biology Open. 5 (10): 1415–1419. doi:10.1242/bio.019919. ISSN 2046-6390. PMC 5087677. PMID 27543056.