Blackfin tuna
| Blackfin tuna | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Blackfin Tuna ( Thunnus atlanticus ) |
||||||||||||
| Systematics | ||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||
| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Thunnus atlanticus | ||||||||||||
| ( Lesson , 1831) |
The black fin tuna ( Thunnus atlanticus ) is a relatively small species of tuna and an important food fish. It reaches a maximum length of 1.08 meters and a maximum weight of 20 kilograms. With the bonito ( Katsuwonus pelamis ) of the same size it forms mixed schools and hunts fish, cephalopods and crustaceans .
features
The average length of the blackfin tuna is 72 cm and weighs 6 to 7 kg. Its spindle-shaped body reaches its greatest height in the middle of the first dorsal fin . The blackfin tuna is metallic dark blue on the top, silvery gray on the sides and milky white on the belly. The first dorsal fin is dark, the second dorsal fin and the anal fin are dark with a silvery sheen, the flippers dark with a yellowish sheen. The pectoral fins are medium in length and reach 22 to 31% of the total length of the fish. The black fin tuna has 39 vertebrae, 20 of which are caudal vertebrae (vertebrae behind the anus). A swim bladder is available. The number of gill trap rays is low, 19 to 25 are on the first gill arch.
Fin formula : dorsal fin XIII / 14–15, anal fin 0 / 13–14.
distribution
The blackfin tuna is a warm water species and lives in the tropical and subtropical western Atlantic , north to Massachusetts and south to Rio de Janeiro and Trindade and Martim Vaz . Its range limit is the 20 ° isotherm .
Reproduction
In Florida, the blackfin tuna reproduces from April to November with a peak in May, in the Gulf of Mexico from June to September.
use
The blackfin tuna is considered a good food fish and is caught with nets and rods.
literature
- Bruce B. Collette, Cornelia E. Nauen: Scombrids of the world. An annotated and illustrated catalog of tunas, mackerels, bonitos and related species known to date (= FAO Species Catalog. Vol. 2 = FAO Fisheries Synopsis. No. 125, Vol. 2). United Nations Development Program et al., Rome 1983, ISBN 92-5-101381-0 , ( complete edition ).
Web links
- Blackfin tuna on Fishbase.org (English)
- Thunnus atlanticus inthe IUCN 2013 Red List of Threatened Species . Posted by: Collette, B., Amorim, AF, Boustany, A., Carpenter, KE, Dooley, J., de Oliveira Leite Jr., N., Fox, W., Fredou, FL, Fritzsche, R., Graves , J., Viera Hazin, FH, Juan Jorda, M., Kada, O., Minte Vera, C., Miyabe, N., Nelson, J., Nelson, R., Oxenford, H., Teixeira Lessa, RP & Pires Ferreira Travassos, PE, 2010. Retrieved October 8, 2013.