Orcynopsis unicolor
No common name
Collection Details
Specimens
Photos
There are no photos available for this taxon yet.
Records
Taxonomic Hierarchy
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned Fishes)
Perciformes (Perciformes, Also Called the Acanthopteri)
Scombridae (Mackerels)
Orcynopsis
Orcynopsis unicolor
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. Mouth rather large, upper jaw reaching to hind margin of eye. Laminae of olfactory rosette 25 to 28. Interpelvic process small and bifid. Body naked behind the well developed corselet. Swim bladder absent. Vertebrae 17 or 18 precaudal plus 19 to 21 caudal, total 37 to 39. Anterior three quarters of first dorsal fin black. Striking features: striking shape of body.
Distribution
Eastern Atlantic: Oslo, Norway south to Dakar, Senegal but the range is centered in the southern Mediterranean Sea. Not known from Madeira, the Canary Islands or Cape Verde.
Habitat Associations
Brackish, marine. pelagic-neritic.
Biology
Adults are neritic, confined primarily to temperate waters, but juveniles may be encountered in waters of up to 30°C. Form small schools at the surface so that the first dorsal fin stands out of the water like that of sharks, also frequently associated with birds. Feed on small fishes, especially sardines, anchovies, jacks, mackerel, bogue and others. Eggs and larvae are pelagic (Ref. 6769). Marketed canned or frozen.
Max length: 130.0 cm FL; common length: 90.0 cm FL; max weight: 13100 g.
Reproductive mode: dioecism; fertilization: external; nonguarders (open water/substratum egg scatterers); parental care: none. A female weighing 5 or 6 kg may carry some 500 to 600,000 eggs which are spawned in portions.
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC), assessed 2022-03-01. Resilience: Medium (Assuming tm<=4).
Commercial or Environmental Importance
Fisheries: minor commercial; gamefish.
References
Collette, B.B. and C.E. Nauen (1983) FAO Species Catalogue. Vol. 2. Scombrids of the world. An annotated and illustrated catalogue of tunas, mackerels, bonitos and related species known to date. Rome: FAO. FAO Fish. Synop. 125(2):137 p.
Gerovasileiou, V., O. Akyol, Z. Al-Hosne, R. Alshikh Rasheed, E. Ataç, G. Bello, I. Ćetkovic, M. Corsini-Foka, F. Crocetta, F. Denitto, P. Guidetti, B. Gül, G. Insacco, C. Jimenez, C. Licchelli, L. Lipej, A. Lombardo, E. Mancini and … (2020) New records of rare species in the Mediterranean Sea (May 2020). Medit. Mar. Sci. 21(2):340-359.
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