Katsuwonus
The skipjack tuna (Katsuwonus pelamis) is a medium-sized perciform fish in the tuna family, Scombridae, and is the only member of the genus Katsuwonus. It is otherwise known as katsuo, arctic bonito, mushmouth, oceanic bonito, striped tuna or victor fish. It grows up to 1 m (3 ft) in length. It is a cosmopolitan pelagic fish found in tropical and warm-temperate waters. It is a very important species for fisheries.
Skipjack tuna has a large number of common names. In other languages, skipjack tuna is also known in Oceania as angarap (Northern Marianas); aku (Hawaii); atu (French Polynesia, Solomon Islands, Samoa, Tonga); yatu or i'a seu (Fiji); te ati or te atu (Kiribati); mwaali (New Caledonia); chilu (Marshall Islands); takua (Niue); and tjakalang (Papua New Guinea).
In Southeast Asia, it is known as tulingan, budlisan, rayado, or bariles (the Philippines); ame-ame, cakalang, tongkol kerai, or aya jepun (Indonesia, Malaysia); tongkol (Timor-Leste, Indonesia); and cá ngừ vằn (Vietnam).
In South Asia, it is known as balaya (Sri Lanka); bugudi, gedar, or kuppa (India); and godhaa (Maldives).
In Africa, it is known as katunkel (South Africa); kiri-kiri (Senegal); jodari (Kenya); sehewa (Tanzania, Kenya, Somalia); m'p'were (Comoros); m'bassi (Madagascar); and listado (Mauritania).
In Latin America, Spain, and Portugal, it is known as cachorreta, listado, rayada, bonito, barrilete, and gaiado.
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DiurnalDiurnal animals are active during the daytime, with a period of sleeping or other inactivity at night. The timing of activity by an animal depends ...
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CarnivoreA carnivore meaning 'meat eater' is an organism that derives its energy and nutrient requirements from a diet consisting mainly or exclusively of a...
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PiscivoresA piscivore is a carnivorous animal that eats primarily fish. Piscivorous is equivalent to the Greek-derived word ichthyophagous. Fish were the die...
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MolluscivoreA molluscivore is a carnivorous animal that specializes in feeding on molluscs such as gastropods, bivalves, brachiopods, and cephalopods. Known mo...
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PlanktivoreA planktivore is an aquatic organism that feeds on planktonic food, including zooplankton and phytoplankton. Phytoplankton are usually photosynthet...
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CosmopolitanAnimals with cosmopolitan distribution are those whose range extends across all or most of the world in appropriate habitats. Another aspect of cos...
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OviparousOviparous animals are female animals that lay their eggs, with little or no other embryonic development within the mother. This is the reproductive...
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MigratingAnimal migration is the relatively long-distance movement of individual animals, usually on a seasonal basis. It is the most common form of migrati...
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OceanodromousS
starts withIt is a streamlined, fast-swimming pelagic fish, common in tropical waters throughout the world, where it inhabits surface waters in large shoals (up to 50,000 fish), feeding on fish, crustaceans, cephalopods, and mollusks. It is an important prey species for sharks and large pelagic fishes and is often used as live bait when fishing for marlin. It has no scales, except on the lateral line and the corselet (a band of large, thick scales forming a circle around the body behind the head). It commonly reaches fork lengths up to 80 cm (2 ft 7 in) and a mass of 8–10 kg (18–22 lb). Its maximum fork length is 108 cm (3 ft 7 in) and its maximum mass is 34.5 kg (76 lb). Determining the age of skipjack tuna is difficult, and the estimates of its potential lifespan range between 8 and 12 years.
Skipjack tuna are batch spawners. Spawning occurs year-round in equatorial waters, but it gets more seasonal further away from the equator. Fork length at first spawning is about 45 cm (18 in). It is also known for its potent smell.
Skipjack tuna has the highest percentage of skeletal muscle devoted to locomotion of all animals, at 68% of the animal's total body mass.
Skipjack tuna are highly sensitive to environmental conditions and changes. Climate change effects are significant in marine ecosystems, and ecological factors may change fish distribution and catchability.
