Seriola dumerili
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)
Carangidae (Jacks)
Seriola
Seriola dumerili (Greater Amberjack)
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.
It may contain errors in spelling, punctuation, or formatting.
When citing, please reference the original source rather than this page.
Learn more about our species accounts.
Characters
Elongate and slightly compressed body, relatively short pectoral fins, no scutes on lateral line, dorsal and ventral caudal peduncle groove. Upper profile slightly more convex than lower. Snout moderately long and acutely pointed. Eye with poorly developed adipose eyelid. Maxilla extends to about middle of pupil. Supramaxilla extremely broad. Jaw teeth minute, in broad bands. Gill rakers on first arch lathlike, 20-24 in specimens 20-70 mm FL, 11-19 in specimens >200 mm FL. 7 branchiostegal rays. Pectoral fin acutely tipped, 20 or 21 rays. First dorsal fin: 6 or 7 spines, last spine reduced and covered with skin in specimens >600 mm FL. Second dorsal fin: 1 spine, 29-34 rays, anterior rays forming short acute lobe. Anal fin: 2 free spines, 1 spine, 18-22 rays, anterior rays forming acute lobe. Free anal fin rays reduced and covered with flesh in specimens >600 mm FL. Scales small, cycloid. Lateral line slightly arched anteriorly, 141-163 scales. Vertebrae 24: 10 precaudal, 14 caudal.
Blue to olivaceous dorsally, silvery to whitish on sides and ventrally. Dark nuchal stripe from eye to origin of first dorsal fin. Amber stripe from eye along midflank. Caudal fin dark or dusky with light and narrow posterior margin. Juveniles (20-170 mm FL) with 5 dark bars on side that become irregularly split vertically, and one bar on caudal peduncle.
Distribution
Western Atlantic from Nova Scotia and Bermuda to Brazil, including the Gulf of Mexico, the Bahamas, and the Greater and Lesser Antilles.
Habitat Associations
Tropical to warm temperate seas, continental and insular shelves, oceanic and neritic waters.
Juveniles associated with floating plants and debris.
Biology
Invertebrates and ray-finned fishes.
Maximum known size is 188 cm FL.
Adults found in deep seaward reefs; occasionally entering coastal bays. They feed primarily on fishes such as the bigeye scad, also on invertebrates (Ref. 4233). Small juveniles associate with floating plants or debris in oceanic and offshore waters. Juveniles form small schools or solitary (Ref. 5213). Eggs are pelagic (Ref. 4233). Utilized fresh and frozen; eaten pan-fried, broiled and baked (Ref. 9987). Reported to cause ciguatera in some areas (Ref. 26938).
Reproductive mode: dioecism; fertilization: external; nonguarders (open water/substratum egg scatterers); parental care: none. Spawning happens during the summer, in areas near the coast. Embryo development lasts about 40 hours at 23° and larval development 31-36 days. Egg size 1.9 mm, larval at hatching 2.9 mm.
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC), assessed 2013-11-07. Resilience: Medium (K=0.18; tm=4; tmax=15).
Commercial or Environmental Importance
Fisheries: minor commercial; gamefish; aquaculture: commercial; aquarium: public aquariums.
References
Böhlke and Chaplin 1968
Randall 1968a
Randall 1996
Mather 1971
Hoese and Moore 1977
Hoese and Moore 1998
Robins and Ray 1986
Smith-Vaniz 1986a
Smith-Vaniz 2001b
Smith-Vaniz 2002c
Boschung 1992
Cervigón 1993a
Cervigón 1993b
Schaldach et al. 1997
Smith 1997
Smith-Vaniz et al. 1999
Randall, J.E. (1967) Food habits of reef fishes of the West Indies. Stud. Trop. Oceanogr. Miami 5:665-847.
Bauchot, M.-L. (1987) Poissons osseux. p. 891-1421. In W. Fischer, M.L. Bauchot and M. Schneider (eds.) Fiches FAO d'identification pour les besoins de la pêche. (rev. 1). Méditerranée et mer Noire. Zone de pêche 37. Vol. II. Commission des Communautés Européennes and FAO, Rome.
Paxton, J.R., D.F. Hoese, G.R. Allen and J.E. Hanley (1989) Pisces. Petromyzontidae to Carangidae. Zoological Catalogue of Australia, Vol. 7. Australian Government Publishing Service, Canberra, 665 p.
Randall, J.E. (1995) Coastal fishes of Oman. University of Hawaii Press, Honolulu, Hawaii. 439 p.
Randall, J.E. (1996) Caribbean reef fishes. Third Edition - revised and enlarged. T.F.H. Publications, Inc. Ltd., Hong Kong. 3nd ed. 368 p.
Smith, C.L. (1997) National Audubon Society field guide to tropical marine fishes of the Caribbean, the Gulf of Mexico, Florida, the Bahamas, and Bermuda. Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., New York. 720 p.
Marino, G., A. Mandich, A. Massari, F. Andaloro and S. Porrello (1995) Aspects of reproductive biology of the Mediterranean amberjack (Seriola dumerilii Risso) during the spawning period. J. Appl. Ichthyol. 11(1-2):9-24.
Bowman, R.E., C.E. Stillwell, W.L. Michaels and M.D. Grosslein (2000) Food of northwest Atlantic fishes and two common species of squid. NOAA Tech. Memo. NMFS-NE 155, 138 p.
Mundy, B.C. (2005) Checklist of the fishes of the Hawaiian Archipelago. Bishop Mus. Bull. Zool. (6):1-704.
Comments On Seriola dumerili