A Virtual Museum on the State's Fish Biodiversity

Thunnus alalunga

Albacore
NS G5
Collection Details

Specimens

Photos

There are no photos available for this taxon yet.

Records

Browse records associated with this taxon

Taxonomic Hierarchy

Actinopterygii (Ray-finned Fishes) Perciformes (Perciformes, Also Called the Acanthopteri) Scombridae (Mackerels) Thunnus Thunnus alalunga (Albacore)

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

Body profile is elliptical, with maximum girth near origin of second dorsal fin. Snout is acute and conical. Jaw teeth are small, conical, and uniserial. Vomer and palatine have or lack teeth. Gill rakers on first arch number 25 to 31. Pectoral fin is falcate, extends beyond anal fin base, and has 30 to 36 rays. First dorsal fin is high anteriorly, has a concave margin, and consists of 11 or 14 spines. Second dorsal fin is sickle shaped and lower than first dorsal fin, has 12 to 16 rays, and is followed by 7 to 10 finlets. Interpelvic process is small and bifid. Anal fin is similar to second dorsal fin in size and shape, has 11 to 16 rays, and is followed by 7 to 10 finlets. Caudal peduncle bears a long midlateral keel between two shorter oblique keels. Body is covered with small scales, and a corselet of large scales extends over nape, anterior section of lateral line, and thorax region. Vertebrae number 39: 18 precaudal and 21 caudal. Gas bladder is present but is poorly developed and is not evident in juveniles smaller than 50 cm FL. Liver in ventral view is striated due to vascular network.
Color is iridescent blue dorsally and whitish on side and ventrally. Dorsal fin is deep yellow, second dorsal and anal fins are light yellow, and finlets are dark. Posterior margin of caudal fin is white.

Distribution

In the western Atlantic it occurs from Nova Scotia and Bermuda to Argentina.
There are no records from the Gulf of Mexico, but it is possible that it occurs there.

Habitat Associations

Epipelagic and mesopelagic in oceanic regions; depth range: 380 m, possibly to 600 m.
Tends to concentrate along thermal gradients where pelagic prey is abundant.

Biology

Food consists of squids, pelagic crustaceans, and ray-finned fishes, such as engraulids, sternoptychids, myctophids, and scomberesocids.
Maximum known size is 127 cm FL.
Males and females mature at about 90 cm FL.
An epipelagic and mesopelagic, oceanic species, abundant in surface waters of 15.6° to 19.4°C; deeper swimming, large albacore are found in waters of 13.5° to 25.2°C; temperatures as low as 9.5°C may be tolerated for short periods (Ref. 168). Known to concentrate along thermal discontinuities (Ref. 168). Form mixed schools with skipjack tuna (Katsuwonus pelamis), yellowfin tuna (Thunnus albacares) and bluefin tuna (T. maccoyii), schools may be associated with floating objects, including sargassum weeds (Ref. 168). Feed on fishes, crustaceans and squids. Eggs and larvae are pelagic (Ref. 6769). Sexual maturity reached at 90 cm (Ref. 36731). Highly appreciated and marketed fresh, smoked, deep frozen or canned. Eaten steamed, broiled, fried and microwaved (Ref. 9987). Also Ref. 1762, 1798, 1804. Angling: Largely caught offshore, where the waters are mild and blue. Albacore favor those areas where cooler water interfaces with warmer water. They are caught with live of dead baitfish such as mullet, sauries, squid, herring, anchovies, sardines, and other small fish. Albacore strike hard and make powerful runs (Ref. 84357).
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC), assessed 2021-01-15. Resilience: Medium (K=0.13-0.18; tm=4-6; tmax=10; Fec=2 million).

Commercial or Environmental Importance

Fisheries: highly commercial; gamefish.

References

Collette 1986b
Collette 2001e
Collette 2002g
Collette and Nauen 1983
Scott and Scott 1988
Smith 1997
Smith-Vaniz et al. 1999
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.
Torres, F. Jr. and D. Pauly (1991) Tabular data on marine fishes from Southern Africa, Part II: Growth parameters. Fishbyte 9(2):37-38.
Iverson, K.L. (1971) Albacore food habits. p.11-46. In L. Pinkas, M. S. Oliphant, and I. L. K. Iverson (eds.) Food habits of albacore, bluefin tuna, and bonito in California waters. Fish. Bull.152.
Figueiredo, J.L. and N.A. Menezes (2000) Manual de peixes marinhos do sudeste do Brasil. VI.Teleostei (5). Museu de Zoologia, Universidade de São Paulo. Brazil. 116 p.
Patzner, R.A. (2008) Reproductive strategies of fish. pp. 311-350. In Rocha, M.J., A. Arukwe and B.G. Kapoor (eds). Fish reproduction: cytology, biology and ecology. Science Publisher, Inc. Oxford. 631 p.

Comments On Thunnus alalunga

No comments have been posted yet.