Caranx hippos
Crevalle Jack
NS
G5
Taxonomic Hierarchy
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned Fishes)
Perciformes (Perciformes, Also Called the Acanthopteri)
Carangidae (Jacks)
Caranx
Caranx hippos (Crevalle Jack)
Description
This species account was compiled from
Composite (multiple sources) (McEachran, J.D. and J.D. Fechhelm. Fishes of the Gulf of Mexico. University of Texas Press, Austin.)
and processed using AI-assisted text extraction.
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Characters
Elongate and moderately compressed body; relatively short second dorsal fin; largely scaleless chest; bony scutes on straight portion of lateral line; dorsal profile of head broadly convex; snout bluntly pointed; eye with adipose eyelid; maxilla extends to or behind posterior margin of eye; jaw teeth in narrow bands with outer row enlarged and recurved; preopercular margin smooth in specimens > 40 mm SL; 6-9 lathlike gill rakers on upper limb and 16-19 on lower limb; 7 branchiostegal rays; pectoral fin falcate with 20-21 rays; first dorsal fin with 8 spines; second dorsal fin with 1 spine and 19-21 rays; anal fin with 2 free spines followed by 1 spine and 16 or 17 rays; lateral line moderately arched anteriorly with 23-35 scutes on posterior straight section; caudal peduncle with 2 keels; 24 vertebrae (10 pre-caudal, 14 caudal)
Greenish, bluish, or bluish black dorsally; silvery white or golden ventrally; elongate black spot on margin of operculum; broad black spot on lower rays of pectoral fin; juveniles with 5 vertical bars on body
Distribution
Western Atlantic from Nova Scotia to Uruguay, including the northern and southern Gulf of Mexico, the Bahamas, and the Greater Antilles
Northern and southern Gulf of Mexico
Habitat Associations
Continental and insular shelves; brackish water; deep offshore waters; pelagic associated with rafts of Sargassum weed
Associated with Sargassum weed (juveniles)
Biology
Shrimps, other invertebrates, and ray-finned fishes
At least 101 cm TL
Generally in neritic waters over the continental shelf (Ref. 5217), from the coastline, where it is common on shallow flats, to offshore waters (Ref. 57392). Adults ascend rivers (Ref. 26938). Juveniles abundant in brackish estuaries with muddy bottoms, near sandy beaches and on seagrass beds (Ref. 5217), entering lagoons and lower courses of rivers (Ref. 57392). They form fast-moving schools, although larger fish may be solitary. They feed on smaller fish, shrimp, and other invertebrates (Ref. 5521). Often grunts or croaks are heard when caught. Eggs are pelagic (Ref. 4233).
Reproductive mode: dioecism; fertilization: external; nonguarders (open water/substratum egg scatterers); parental care: none.
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC), assessed 2018-09-10. Resilience: Medium (Assuming tm 3-4).
Commercial or Environmental Importance
Fisheries: commercial; gamefish.
References
Berry 1959
Böhlke and Chaplin 1968
Randall 1968a
Randall 1996
Hoese and Moore 1977 (as C. fuscus)
Hoese and Moore 1998
Castro-Aguirre and Márquez-Espinoza 1981
Matsuura 1983e
Robins and Ray 1986
Boschung 1992
Cervigón 1993b
Schaldach et al. 1997
Smith 1997
Castro-Aguirre et al. 1999
Smith-Vaniz 2002c
Cervigón, F., R. Cipriani, W. Fischer, L. Garibaldi, M. Hendrickx, A.J. Lemus, R. Márquez, J.M. Poutiers, G. Robaina and B. Rodriguez (1992) Fichas FAO de identificación de especies para los fines de la pesca. Guía de campo de las especies comerciales marinas y de aquas salobres de la costa septentrional de Sur América. FAO, Rome. 513 p. Preparado con el financiamento de la Comisión de Comunidades Europeas y de NORAD.
Smith-Vaniz, W.F., J.-C. Quéro and M. Desoutter (1990) Carangidae. p. 729-755. In J.C. Quero, J.C. Hureau, C. Karrer, A. Post and L. Saldanha (eds.) Check-list of the fishes of the eastern tropical Atlantic (CLOFETA). JNICT, Lisbon; SEI, Paris; and UNESCO, Paris. Vol. 2.
Randall, J.E. (1996) Caribbean reef fishes. Third Edition - revised and enlarged. T.F.H. Publications, Inc. Ltd., Hong Kong. 3nd ed. 368 p.
Sierra, L.M., R. Claro and O.A. Popova (1994) Alimentacion y relaciones tróficas. p. 263-284. In Rodolfo Claro (ed.) Ecología de los Peces Marinos de Cuba. Instituto de Oceanología Academia de Ciencias de Cuba and Centro de Investigaciones de Quintana Roo, Mexico.
Keith, P., P.-Y. Le Bail and P. Planquette (2000) Atlas des poissons d'eau douce de Guyane. Tome 2, Fascicule I: Batrachoidiformes, Mugiliformes, Beloniformes, Cyprinodontiformes, Synbranchiformes, Perciformes, Pleuronectiformes, Tetraodontiformes. Collection Patrimoines Naturels 43(I): 286p. Paris: Publications scientifiques du Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle.
Gómez-Canchong, P., L. Manjarrés M., L.O. Duarte and J. Altamar (2004) Atlas pesquero del area norte del Mar Caribe de Colombia. Universidad del Magadalena, Santa Marta. 230 p.
Bauchot, M.-L. (2003) Carangidae. p. 464-483 In C. Lévêque, D. Paugy and G.G. Teugels (eds.) Faune des poissons d'eaux douce et saumâtres de l'Afrique de l'Ouest, Tome 2. Coll. Faune et Flore tropicales 40. Musée Royal de l'Afrique Centrale, Tervuren, Belgique, Museum National d'Histoire Naturalle, Paris, France and Institut de Recherche pour le Développement, Paris, France. 815 p.
Smith-Vaniz, W.F. and K.E. Carpenter (2007) Review of the crevalle jacks, Caranx hippos complex (Teleostei: Carangidae), with a description of a new species from West Africa. Fish. Bull. 105(2):207-233.
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