Actinopterygii (ray-finned fishes) >
Perciformes (Perch-likes) >
Carangidae (Jacks and pompanos)
Etymology: Elagatis: Greek, elakate, -es = distaff, cane (Ref. 45335).
Environment / Climate / Range
Ecology
Marine; reef-associated; depth range 0 - 150 m (Ref. 9710), usually 2 - 10 m (Ref. 40849). Subtropical; 42°N - 41°S, 95°W - 156°E (Ref. 54429)
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ? range ? - ? cm
Max length : 180 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 26340); common length : 90.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 5217); max. published weight: 46.2 kg (Ref. 40637)
Dorsal
spines
(total): 7;
Dorsal
soft rays
(total): 25-28;
Anal
spines: 2;
Anal
soft rays: 18 - 20. Color dark olive green or blue above, white below; 2 narrow light blue bands on sides with a yellowish band between them; fins olive or yellowish. Upper jaw ending before the eye. Anal fin base is shorter than that of dorsal fin base. It has a 2-rayed finlet; 2 anal fin spines are detached. Dorsal and anal fins are relatively short; with small two-rayed pinnulae just behind the dorsal and anal fins (Ref. 4795). Lateral line without scutes (Ref. 26938).
Western Atlantic: Massachusetts, USA and northern Gulf of Mexico to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (Ref. 57756). Eastern Atlantic: off Genoa, Italy in the Mediterranean (Ref. 4233) and from Côte d'Ivoire to Angola (Ref. 7097). Throughout the Indo-Pacific (Ref. 37816), but rare or absent in the Persian Gulf (Ref. 3287). Eastern Pacific: mouth of Gulf of California to Ecuador; including the Galapagos Islands (Ref. 9283).
Found in oceanic and coastal waters, generally near the surface over reefs or sometimes far from the coast (Ref. 9283, 11230, 48635). May form large schools (Ref. 9283, 48635). Feed on invertebrates (larger crustaceans of the zooplankton) and small fishes (Ref. 9283, 26145). Eggs are pelagic (Ref. 4233). Good food fish (Ref. 9626) and a valued game fish (Ref. 26938); marketed fresh and salted or dried (Ref. 9283); also frozen and used for sashimi (Ref. 9987).
Smith-Vaniz, W.F., 1986. Carangidae. p. 638-661. In M.M. Smith and P.C. Heemstra (eds.) Smiths' sea fishes. Springer-Verlag, Berlin.
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 90363)
Threat to humans
Reports of ciguatera poisoning (Ref. 30911)
Human uses
Fisheries: highly commercial; gamefish: yes
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Estimates of some properties based on empirical models
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref.
82805): PD
50 = 1.0000 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.01011 (-0.09923 - 0.11945), b=2.85949 (2.78964 - 2.92933), based on LWR estimates for species & family-BS (Ref.
93245).
Trophic Level (Ref.
69278): 3.6 ±0.49 se; Based on food items.
Resilience (Ref.
69278): Medium, minimum population doubling time 1.4 - 4.4 years (Assuming tmax>3; K=0.6 is doubtful).
Vulnerability (Ref.
59153): Moderate vulnerability (41 of 100) .
