Scomberomorini is a

tribe The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide use of the term in English is in the discipline of anthropology. The definition is contested, in part due to conflict ...

of ray-finned, saltwater,

bony fish Osteichthyes ( ; ), also known as osteichthyans or commonly referred to as the bony fish, is a Biodiversity, diverse clade of vertebrate animals that have endoskeletons primarily composed of bone tissue. They can be contrasted with the Chondricht ...

es that is commonly known as Spanish mackerels, seerfishes, or seer fish. This tribe is a subset of the mackerel family (Scombridae), which it shares with four sister tribes, the tunas,

mackerel Mackerel is a common name applied to a number of different species of pelagic fish, mostly from the family Scombridae. They are found in both temperate and tropical seas, mostly living along the coast or offshore in the oceanic environment. ...

bonito Bonitos are a tribe of medium-sized, ray-finned, predatory fish in the family Scombridae, which it shares with the mackerel, tuna, and Spanish mackerel tribes, and also the butterfly kingfish. Also called the tribe Sardini, it consists of ...

s, and butterfly kingfish. Scomberomorini comprises 21

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

across three

genera Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family as used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In binomial nomenclature, the genus name forms the first part of the binomial s ...

. They are

pelagic fish Pelagic fish live in the pelagic zone of ocean or lake waters—being neither close to the bottom nor near the shore—in contrast with demersal fish that live on or near the bottom, and reef fish that are associated with coral reefs. ...

, fast swimmers and predatory in nature, that fight vigorously when caught. They are mainly caught using hooks and lines.

Taxonomy

The following

cladogram A cladogram (from Greek language, Greek ''clados'' "branch" and ''gramma'' "character") is a diagram used in cladistics to show relations among organisms. A cladogram is not, however, an Phylogenetic tree, evolutionary tree because it does not s ...

shows the most likely evolutionary relationships between the Spanish mackerels and the tunas, mackerels, bonitos, and butterfly kingfish.

This tribe comprises 21 species in three genera: * ''

Acanthocybium The wahoo (''Acanthocybium solandri'') is a Scombridae, scombrid fish found Cosmopolitan distribution, worldwide in tropical and subtropical seas. In Hawaii, the wahoo is known as ono. The species is sometimes called hoo in the United States. It ...

'' (Gill, 1862) ** '' A. solandri'' (

Cuvier Jean Léopold Nicolas Frédéric, baron Cuvier (23 August 1769 – 13 May 1832), known as Georges Cuvier (; ), was a French natural history, naturalist and zoology, zoologist, sometimes referred to as the "founding father of paleontology". Cuv ...

, 1832),

wahoo The wahoo (''Acanthocybium solandri'') is a scombrid fish found worldwide in tropical and subtropical seas. In Hawaii, the wahoo is known as ono. The species is sometimes called hoo in the United States. It is best known to sports fishermen, a ...

* ''

Grammatorcynus ''Grammatorcynus'' is a genus of ray-finned bony fish in the family Scombridae. This genus together with '' Acanthocybium'' and '' Scomberomorus'' are comprised by the tribe Scomberomorini, commonly known as the Spanish mackerels or seerfish ...

'' (Gill, 1862) ** '' G. bicarinatus'' ( Quoy &

Gaimard Joseph Paul Gaimard (31 January 1793 – 10 December 1858) was a French naval surgeon and naturalist. Biography Gaimard was born at Saint-Zacharie on January 31, 1793. He studied medicine at the naval medical school in Toulon, subsequent ...

, 1825),

shark mackerel The shark mackerel (''Grammatorcynus bicarinatus'') is a species of Spanish mackerel (tribe Scomberomorini) in the scombrid family (Scombridae). Their maximum reported length is , and the maximum reported weight is . This species is sometimes al ...

** '' G. bilineatus'' ( Rüppell, 1836),

double-lined mackerel The double-lined mackerel (''Grammatorcynus bilineatus''), is a species of Spanish mackerel (tribe Scomberomorini) in the family Scombridae. This species is sometimes also called the scad mackerel (not be confused with the mackerel scad in the ...

* ''

Scomberomorus ''Scomberomorus'' is a genus of ray-finned bony fish in the mackerel family, Scombridae. More specifically, it is a member of the tribe (biology), tribe Scomberomorini, commonly known as the Spanish mackerels. Species ''Scomberomorus'' includes ...

'' ( Lacepède, 1801) ** '' S. brasiliensis'' Collette, Russo & Zavala-Camin, 1978,

Serra Spanish mackerel The Sierra Spanish mackerel (''Scomberomorus brasiliensis'') is a species of fish in the family Scombridae. Specimens have been recorded at up to 125 cm in length, and weighing up to 6.71 kg. It is found in the western Atlantic, along t ...

** '' S. cavalla'' (

, 1829),

king mackerel The king mackerel (''Scomberomorus cavalla'') surmayi or kingfish, is a migratory species of mackerel of the western Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico. It is an important species to both the commercial and recreational fishing industries. Descri ...

** '' S. commerson'' ( Lacépède, 1800),

narrow-barred Spanish mackerel The narrow-barred Spanish mackerel (''Scomberomorus commerson'') is a mackerel of the family Scombridae found in a wide-ranging area in Southeast Asia, but as far west as the east coast of Africa and from the Middle East and along the northern coa ...

** '' S. concolor'' ( Lockington, 1879),

Monterrey Spanish mackerel The Monterrey Spanish mackerel (''Scomberomorus concolor'') is a species of fish in the family Scombridae. It is endemic to Mexico where it is found in the northern part of the Gulf of California. It is the subject of a fishery, its population is ...

** '' S. guttatus'' (

Bloch Bloch is a surname of German origin. Notable people with this surname include: A *Adele Bloch-Bauer (1881–1925), Austrian entrepreneur *Albert Bloch (1882–1961), American painter *Alexandre Bloch (1857–1919), French painter *Alfred Bloch ( ...

& Schneider, 1801),

Indo-Pacific king mackerel Indo-Pacific king mackerel (''Scomberomorus guttatus''), also known as the spotted seer fish or spotted Spanish mackerel, is a sea fish among the mackerel variety of fishes. It is found in around the Indian Ocean and adjoining seas. It can grow ...

** '' S. koreanus'' ( Kishinouye, 1915),

Korean seerfish The Korean mackerel (''Scomberomorus koreanus'') also known as the Korean seerfish, is a ray-finned bony fish in the family Scombridae, better known as the mackerel family. Within that family, this fish is a member of the tribe Scomberomorini, th ...

** '' S. lineolatus'' (

, 1829),

streaked seerfish The streaked Spanish mackerel (''Scomberomorus lineolatus''), also known as the queen mackerel, streaked seer, or streaked seerfish'','' is a species of Spanish mackerel found in the Indian Ocean. It is also known by other names, such as ''haz ...

** '' S. maculatus'' ( Mitchill, 1815),

Atlantic Spanish mackerel The Atlantic Spanish mackerel (''Scomberomorus maculatus'') is a migratory species of mackerel that swims to the northern Gulf of Mexico in spring, returns to southern Florida in the eastern Gulf, and to Mexico in the western Gulf in the fall. D ...

** '' S. multiradiatus'' Munro, 1964, Papuan seerfish ** '' S. munroi'' Collette & Russo, 1980, Australian spotted mackerel ** '' S. niphonius'' (

, 1832), Japanese Spanish mackerel ** '' S. plurilineatus'' Fourmanoir, 1966, Kanadi kingfish ** '' S. queenslandicus'' Munro, 1943, Queensland school mackerel ** '' S. regalis'' (

, 1793),

Cero mackerel The cero (''Scomberomorus regalis''), also known as the pintado, kingfish,Free Dictionary online
(retrieved 18 Sept ...

** '' S. semifasciatus'' ( Macleay, 1883), broadbarred king mackerel ** '' S. sierra''

Jordan Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...

& Starks, 1895, Pacific sierra ** '' S. sinensis'' ( Lacépède, 1800), Chinese seerfish ** '' S. tritor'' (

, 1832), West African Spanish mackerel

In India

Spanish mackerel is liked for its delicacy in various regions of South India and

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

. In

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (ISO 15919, ISO: , , AP) is a States and union territories of India, state on the East Coast of India, east coast of southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, seventh-largest state and th ...

and

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is the southernmost States and union territories of India, state of India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of Indi ...

, this fish is called ''Vanjaram'' and is usually the most expensive fish available. In

Kerala Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile ...

, it is called ''Neymeen''. It is called ''Aiykoora'' in northern Kerala and south coastal

Karnataka Karnataka ( ) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed as Mysore State on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, States Re ...

. In Sri Lanka, Spanish mackerel is known as ''thora''. Seerfishes are also referred to as ''king mackerels'' in some areas. They have very sharp teeth and are handled with care by fishers familiar with them. Seerfish is one of the more popular in this group for eating. Seerfishes are notorious for their histamine poisoning. It can be fried, grilled, and steamed. It is gaining popularity in the South Pacific and

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

as a canned product. Throughout India, Spanish mackerel may be known as the following: *Tamil – Vanjaram, Seela *Telugu – Vanjaram Chepa *Kannada – Konema, Kalagnani, Surmai *Tulu – Anjal *Malayalam – Neymeen, Ayakkoora *Sinhala (Sri Lanka) – Thora *Marathi – Surmai *Konkani – Iswon

References

Scombridae {{Scombroidei-stub

Taxonomy

In India

See also

References