Caranx caninus
Pacific Crevalle Jack
Collection Details
Specimens
Photos
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Records
Taxonomic Hierarchy
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned Fishes)
Perciformes (Perciformes, Also Called the Acanthopteri)
Carangidae (Jacks)
Caranx
Caranx caninus (Pacific Crevalle Jack)
Description
This species account was compiled from
FishBase (Froese, R. and D. Pauly. Editors. 2025. FishBase. World Wide Web electronic publication. www.fishbase.org, version 04/2025.)
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Characters
Body shape: fusiform / normal. Body deep, elongated and slightly compressed; eye with an adipose eyelid; posterior edge of lower jaw behind posterior edge of eye; chest mostly scaleless, just a small patch in front of pectoral fins; 35 to 42 strong scutes; back of body blue to blue black; belly white, silvery, or yellow; pectoral fins and operculum each with a black spot (Ref. 55763).
Distribution
Eastern Pacific: San Diego, California, USA to Peru, including the Gulf of California and the Galapagos Islands. Probably the same species as Caranx hippos in the Atlantic.
Habitat Associations
Brackish, marine. pelagic-oceanic. depth range 1-350 m. Found in: estuaries.
Biology
Adults occur in oceanic and coastal waters, commonly found in shallow water, with larger individuals up to 350 m depth (Ref. 9283). Also found in brackish water and occasionally ascend rivers (Ref. 9283). They form medium-sized to big schools, but large adults may be solitary (Ref. 9283). They feed mainly on fishes, but also takes shrimps and other invertebrates (Ref. 9283). Often makes a grunting sound when captured (Ref. 9283). Juveniles are often found in river estuaries (Ref. 9283). Marketed fresh, frozen, smoked and salted or dried; also utilized as fishmeal and a source of oil (Ref. 9283).
Max length: 101.0 cm FL; common length: 60.0 cm TL; max weight: 17690 g; max age: 15 years.
Reproductive mode: dioecism; fertilization: external; nonguarders (open water/substratum egg scatterers); parental care: none.
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC), assessed 2008-04-30. Resilience: Medium (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
Commercial or Environmental Importance
Fisheries: commercial; gamefish.
References
Eschmeyer, W.N., E.S. Herald and H. Hammann (1983) A field guide to Pacific coast fishes of North America. Boston (MA, USA): Houghton Mifflin Company. xii+336 p.
Smith-Vaniz, W.F. (1995) Carangidae. Jureles, pámpanos, cojinúas, zapateros, cocineros, casabes, macarelas, chicharros, jorobados, medregales, pez pilota. p. 940-986. In W. Fischer, F. Krupp, W. Schneider, C. Sommer, K.E. Carpenter and V. Niem (eds.) Guia FAO para Identification de Especies para lo Fines de la Pesca. Pacifico Centro-Oriental. 3 Vols. FAO, Rome.
Grove, J.S. and R.J. Lavenberg (1997) The fishes of the Galápagos Islands. Stanford University Press, Stanford, 863 p.
IGFA (2001) Database of IGFA angling records until 2001. IGFA, Fort Lauderdale, USA.
Jiménez Prado, P. and P. Béarez (2004) Peces Marinos del Ecuador continental. Tomo 2: Guía de Especies / Marine fishes of continental Ecuador. Volume 2: Species Guide. SIMBIOE/NAZCA/IFEA.
Gross, M.R. and R. Shine (1981) Parental care and mode of fertilization in ectothermic vertebrates. Evolution 35(4):775-793.
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