A barracuda, or cuda for short, is a large, predatory,
ray-finned fish known for its fearsome appearance and ferocious behaviour. The barracuda is a saltwater
fish of the
genus ''Sphyraena'', the only genus in the family Sphyraenidae, which was named by
Constantine Samuel Rafinesque
Constantine Samuel Rafinesque-Schmaltz (; October 22, 1783September 18, 1840) was a French 19th-century polymath born near Constantinople in the Ottoman Empire and self-educated in France. He traveled as a young man in the United States, ultimat ...
in 1815.
It is found in tropical and subtropical oceans worldwide ranging from the eastern border of the Atlantic Ocean to the
Red Sea, on its western border the
Caribbean Sea
The Caribbean Sea ( es, Mar Caribe; french: Mer des Caraïbes; ht, Lanmè Karayib; jam, Kiaribiyan Sii; nl, Caraïbische Zee; pap, Laman Karibe) is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean in the tropics of the Western Hemisphere. It is bounded by Mexico ...
, and in tropical areas of the Pacific Ocean. Barracudas reside near the top of the water and near coral reefs and sea grasses.
Barracudas are targeted by
sport-fishing enthusiasts.
Etymology
The common name "barracuda" is derived from
Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries
**Spanish cuisine
Other places
* Spanish, Ontario, Can ...
, with the original word being of possibly
Cariban
The Cariban languages are a family of languages indigenous to northeastern South America. They are widespread across northernmost South America, from the mouth of the Amazon River to the Colombian Andes, and they are also spoken in small pockets ...
origin.
Description
Barracuda are snake-like in appearance, with prominent, sharp-edged,
fang-like teeth, much like
piranha, all of different sizes, set in
sockets of their large jaws. They have large, pointed heads with an underbite in many species. Their gill covers have no spines and are covered with small
scales. Their two
dorsal fin
A dorsal fin is a fin located on the back of most marine and freshwater vertebrates within various taxa of the animal kingdom. Many species of animals possessing dorsal fins are not particularly closely related to each other, though through co ...
s are widely separated, with the anterior fin having five spines, and the posterior fin having one spine and nine soft rays. The posterior dorsal fin is similar in size to the
anal fin
Fins are distinctive anatomical features composed of bony spines or rays protruding from the body of a fish. They are covered with skin and joined together either in a webbed fashion, as seen in most bony fish, or similar to a flipper, as s ...
and is situated above it. The
lateral line
The lateral line, also called the lateral line organ (LLO), is a system of sensory organs found in fish, used to detect movement, vibration, and pressure gradients in the surrounding water. The sensory ability is achieved via modified epithelial ...
is prominent and extends straight from head to tail. The spinous dorsal fin is placed above the
pelvic fins and is normally retracted in a groove. The
caudal fin
Fins are distinctive anatomical features composed of bony spines or rays protruding from the body of a fish. They are covered with skin and joined together either in a webbed fashion, as seen in most bony fish, or similar to a flipper, as s ...
is moderately forked with its posterior edge double-curved and is set at the end of a stout
peduncle. The
pectoral fins are placed low on the sides. The
swim bladder is large, allowing for minimal energy expenditure while cruising or remaining idle.
In most cases, barracuda are dark gray, dark green, white, or blue on the upper body, with silvery sides and a chalky-white belly. Coloration varies somewhat between species. For some species, irregular black spots or a row of darker cross-bars occur on each side. Their fins may be yellowish or dusky. Barracudas live primarily in oceans, but certain species, such as the great barracuda, live in
brackish water
Brackish water, sometimes termed brack water, is water occurring in a natural environment that has more salinity than freshwater, but not as much as seawater. It may result from mixing seawater (salt water) and fresh water together, as in estuari ...
. Due to similarities, sometimes Barracuda is compared with freshwater
Pike
Pike, Pikes or The Pike may refer to:
Fish
* Blue pike or blue walleye, an extinct color morph of the yellow walleye ''Sander vitreus''
* Ctenoluciidae, the "pike characins", some species of which are commonly known as pikes
* ''Esox'', genus ...
, though the major difference between the two is that Barracuda has two separate
dorsal fin
A dorsal fin is a fin located on the back of most marine and freshwater vertebrates within various taxa of the animal kingdom. Many species of animals possessing dorsal fins are not particularly closely related to each other, though through co ...
s with a forked tail, unlike the freshwater pike.
Some species grow quite large (up to 65 inches or 165 cm in length), such as ''Sphyraena sphyraena'', found in the
Mediterranean Sea and eastern
Atlantic; ''Sphyraena picudilla'', ranging on the Atlantic coast of tropical America from
North Carolina to Brazil and reaching
Bermuda
)
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, song = " Hail to Bermuda"
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. Other barracuda species are found around the world. Examples are ''Sphyraena argentea'', found from
Puget Sound southwards to
Cabo San Lucas
Cabo San Lucas (, "Saint Luke Cape"), or simply just Cabo, is a resort city at the southern tip of the Baja California Peninsula, in the Mexican state of Baja California Sur. As at the 2020 Census, the population of the city was 202,694 inhabitan ...
, ''Sphyraena jello'', from the seas of India and the
Malay Peninsula and Archipelago.
Species
The barracuda genus ''Sphyraena'' contains 29 species:
* ''
Sphyraena acutipinnis''
F. Day, 1876 (Sharpfin barracuda)
* ''
Sphyraena afra''
W. K. H. Peters, 1844 (Guinean barracuda)
* ''
Sphyraena arabiansis''
E. M. Abdussamad, Ratheesh
Ratheesh (1954–2002) was an Indian actor best known for his work in Malayalam cinema. He was a native of Kalavoor in the Alappuzha district of Kerala, India. He performed villainous roles during the 1990s. He had acted in 158 films with dire ...
, Thangaraja, Bineesh & D. Prakashan, 2015 (Arabian barracuda)
* ''
Sphyraena argentea''
Girard, 1854 (Pacific barracuda)
* ''
Sphyraena barracuda''
( G. Edwards, 1771) (Great barracuda)
* ''
Sphyraena borealis''
DeKay, 1842 (Northern sennet)
* ''
Sphyraena chrysotaenia''
Klunzinger, 1884 (Yellowstripe barracuda)
* ''
Sphyraena ensis''
D. S. Jordan & C. H. Gilbert, 1882 (Mexican barracuda)
* ''
Sphyraena flavicauda''
Rüppell, 1838 (Yellowtail barracuda)
* ''
Sphyraena forsteri''
G. Cuvier, 1829 (Bigeye barracuda)
* ''
Sphyraena guachancho''
G. Cuvier, 1829 (Guachanche barracuda)
* ''
Sphyraena helleri''
O. T. Jenkins, 1901 (Heller's barracuda)
* ''
Sphyraena iburiensis''
Doiuchi & Nakabo, 2005
* ''
Sphyraena idiastes''
Heller & Snodgrass, 1903 (Pelican barracuda)
* ''
Sphyraena intermedia''
Pastore, 2009
* ''
Sphyraena japonica''
Bloch Bloch is a surname of German origin. Notable people with this surname include:
A–F
* (1859-1914), French rabbi
*Adele Bloch-Bauer (1881-1925), Austrian entrepreneur
* Albert Bloch (1882–1961), American painter
* (born 1972), German motor journa ...
& J. G. Schneider, 1801 (Japanese barracuda)
* ''
Sphyraena jello''
G. Cuvier, 1829 (Pickhandle barracuda)
* ''
Sphyraena lucasana''
T. N. Gill, 1863 (Lucas barracuda)
* ''
Sphyraena novaehollandiae''
Günther, 1860 (Australian barracuda)
* ''
Sphyraena obtusata''
G. Cuvier, 1829 (Obtuse barracuda)
* ''
Sphyraena picudilla''
Poey, 1860 (Southern sennet)
* ''
Sphyraena pinguis''
Günther, 1874 (Red barracuda)
* ''
Sphyraena putnamae''
D. S. Jordan & Seale, 1905 (Sawtooth barracuda)
* ''
Sphyraena qenie''
Klunzinger, 1870 (Blackfin barracuda)
* ''
Sphyraena sphyraena
''Sphyraena sphyraena'', also known as the European barracuda or Mediterranean barracuda, is a ray-finned predatory fish of the Mediterranean basin and the warmer waters of the Atlantic Ocean.
Description
''Sphyraena sphyraena'' has a long, com ...
''
( Linnaeus, 1758
Events
January–March
* January 1 – Swedish biologist Carl Linnaeus (Carl von Linné) publishes in Stockholm the first volume (''Animalia'') of the 10th edition of ''Systema Naturae'', the starting point of modern zoological ...
) (European barracuda)
* ''
Sphyraena tome''
Fowler, 1903
* ''
Sphyraena viridensis''
G. Cuvier, 1829 (Yellowmouth barracuda)
* ''
Sphyraena waitii''
W. Ogilby, 1908
Behavior and diet
Barracudas are ferocious, opportunistic
predators, relying on surprise and short bursts of speed, up to , to overtake their prey.
Adults of most species are more or less solitary, while young and half-grown fish frequently congregate. Barracudas prey primarily on fish (which may include some as large as themselves). They kill and consume larger prey by tearing chunks out of their prey. Barracuda species are often seen competing against
mackerel,
needle fish and sometimes even
dolphins for prey.
Barracuda feed on an array of prey including fish such as jacks, grunts, groupers, snappers, small
tunas,
mullets,
killifishes,
herring
Herring are forage fish, mostly belonging to the family of Clupeidae.
Herring often move in large schools around fishing banks and near the coast, found particularly in shallow, temperate waters of the North Pacific and North Atlantic Oceans, ...
s, and anchovies by simply biting them in half.
They also seem to consume smaller species of sustenance that are in front of them.
Barracudas are usually found swimming in saltwater searching for schools of plankton-feeding fish. Their silver and elongated bodies make them difficult for prey to detect, and even more difficult to be seen when viewing them head-on. Barracudas depend heavily on their eyesight when they are out hunting. When hunting, they tend to notice everything that has an unusual color, reflection, or movement. Once a barracuda targets an intended victim, its long tail and matching anal and dorsal fins enable it to move with swift bursts of speed to attack its prey before it can escape. Barracudas generally attack schools of fish, speeding at them head first and biting at them with their jaws. When barracudas age, they tend to swim alone. However, there are times where they tend to stay with the pack. Barracudas will sometimes swim in groups. In this case, they can relocate schools of fish into compact areas or lead them into shallow water to more easily feed on them.
Interactions with humans
Some species of barracuda are reputed to be dangerous to swimmers. Barracudas are scavengers, and may mistake snorkelers for large predators, following them hoping to eat the remains of their prey. Swimmers have reported being bitten by barracudas, but such incidents are rare and possibly caused by poor visibility. Large barracudas can be encountered in muddy shallows on rare occasion. Barracudas may mistake things that glint and shine for prey.
One incident reported a barracuda jumping out of water and injuring a kayaker, but Jason Schratwieser, conservation director of the
International Game Fish Association
The International Game Fish Association (''IGFA'') is the leading authority on angling pursuits and the keeper of the most current World Record fishing catches by fish categories. Fishermen who are sport fishers are careful to follow their string ...
, said that the wound could have been caused by a
houndfish
The houndfish (''Tylosurus crocodilus'') is a game fish of the family Belonidae. It is the largest member of its family, growing up to in length and in weight. It is also often called the crocodile needlefish.
Description
While the houndfish ...
.
As food
Barracudas are popular both as food and
game fish. They are most often eaten as fillets or steaks. Larger species, such as the
great barracuda
''Sphyraena barracuda'', commonly known as the great barracuda, is a species of barracuda: large, predatory ray-finned fish found in subtropical oceans around the world.
Distribution and habitat
The great barracuda is present in tropical to warm ...
, have been implicated in cases of
ciguatera
Ciguatera fish poisoning (CFP), also known simply as ciguatera, is a foodborne illness caused by eating reef fish whose flesh is contaminated with certain toxins. Such individual fish are said to be ciguatoxic. Symptoms may include diarrhea, vom ...
food poisoning. Those who have been diagnosed with this type of food poisoning display symptoms of gastrointestinal discomfort, limb weakness, and an inability to differentiate hot from cold effectively.
West Africans
smoke
Smoke is a suspension of airborne particulates and gases emitted when a material undergoes combustion or pyrolysis, together with the quantity of air that is entrained or otherwise mixed into the mass. It is commonly an unwanted by-produ ...
them for use in
soups and
sauce
In cooking, a sauce is a liquid, cream, or semi-solid food, served on or used in preparing other foods. Most sauces are not normally consumed by themselves; they add flavor, moisture, and visual appeal to a dish. ''Sauce'' is a French word ...
s. Smoking protects the soft flesh from disintegrating in the broth and gives it a smoky flavour.
In popular culture
The "Blue Barracudas" were a team on the 90's Nickelodeon gameshow Legends of the Hidden Temple.
The barracuda prominently appeared in the 2003
Disney/
Pixar animated
Animation is a method by which still figures are manipulated to appear as moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Today, most anim ...
film ''
Finding Nemo'', in the beginning of the film, when it attacks the
clownfishes Marlin (
Albert Brooks
Albert Brooks (born Albert Lawrence Einstein ; July 22, 1947) is an American actor and filmmaker.
He received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor for 1987's '' Broadcast News'' and was widely praised for his performance as a ...
), Coral (
Elizabeth Perkins), Nemo (
Alexander Gould
Alexander Jerome Gould (born May 4, 1994) is an American actor. He is best known for voicing the title character of the Pixar animated film ''Finding Nemo''. He is also known for playing Shane Botwin on the Showtime drama series '' Weeds''.
Pe ...
) and their
egg
An egg is an organic vessel grown by an animal to carry a possibly fertilized egg cell (a zygote) and to incubate from it an embryo within the egg until the embryo has become an animal fetus that can survive on its own, at which point the a ...
s who lives in the
sea anemone by the
drop off in the
Great Barrier Reef in Australia. Before the
main titles in the film and in the
3D version release in 2012, the barracuda closes its
teeth
A tooth ( : teeth) is a hard, calcified structure found in the jaws (or mouths) of many vertebrates and used to break down food. Some animals, particularly carnivores and omnivores, also use teeth to help with capturing or wounding prey, tea ...
and the bottom
lip
The lips are the visible body part at the mouth of many animals, including humans. Lips are soft, movable, and serve as the opening for food intake and in the articulation of sound and speech. Human lips are a tactile sensory organ, and can be ...
is shown in the film. Nemo likely would not have survived into adulthood due to his small fin had the barracuda not eaten all other eggs. (The same barracuda also appeared as an
easter egg in the 2019 Disney/Pixar animated film ''
Toy Story 4''. It was stuffed and mounted in display in the Second Chances
antique store
An antique shop (or antiques shop) is a retail store specializing in the selling of antiques. Antiques shops can be located either locally or, with the advent of the Internet, found online.
An antiques shop can also be located within an anti ...
.)
"
Barracuda" is the title of a 1977 hit song by American
rock
Rock most often refers to:
* Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids
* Rock music, a genre of popular music
Rock or Rocks may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...
band
Heart
The heart is a muscular organ in most animals. This organ pumps blood through the blood vessels of the circulatory system. The pumped blood carries oxygen and nutrients to the body, while carrying metabolic waste such as carbon dioxide to ...
.
The ''
Pokémon
(an abbreviation for in Japan) is a Japanese media franchise managed by The Pokémon Company, founded by Nintendo, Game Freak, and Creatures, the owners of the trademark and copyright of the franchise.
In terms of what each of those c ...
'' Arrokuda and its evolution Barraskewda (both introduced to the franchise in ''
Pokémon Sword and Shield
and are 2019 role-playing video games developed by Game Freak and published by The Pokémon Company and Nintendo for the Nintendo Switch console. They are the first installments in the eighth generation of the ''Pokémon'' video game series ...
'') are based on the barracuda.
The
Plymouth Barracuda is a two-door
pony car that was manufactured by
Plymouth from 1964 to 1974.
Gallery
Image:Diver in school of barracudas.jpg, Scuba diver swimming inside a group of ''Sphyraena putnamae'' off Ko Tao
Ko Tao ( th, เกาะเต่า, , ) is an island in Thailand and is part of the Chumphon Archipelago on the western shore of the Gulf of Thailand. It covers an area of about 21 km2 (8 sq mi). Administratively it is a subdistrict (''t ...
, Thailand
File:Great Barracuda close-up, western Puerto Rico.jpg, Close-up of ''Sphyraena barracuda''
Image:Barracuda with prey.jpg, ''Sphyraena barracuda'' with prey
File:School of blackfin barracuda (sphyraena qenie).JPG, School of ''Sphyraena qenie'' at Elphinstone Reef in the Red Sea
Image:School of barracuda.JPG, A battery of ''Sphyraena putnamae'' in Bora Bora
Bora Bora ( French: ''Bora-Bora''; Tahitian: ''Pora Pora'') is an island group in the Leeward Islands. The Leeward Islands comprise the western part of the Society Islands of French Polynesia, which is an overseas collectivity of the French R ...
Image:Sphyraena flavicauda.JPG, A battery of ''Sphyraena flavicauda'' off Dayang, Malaysia
Image:Sphyraena borealis.jpg, ''Sphyraena borealis''
File:FISH MARKET.jpg, Woman carrying a barracuda in Madagascar
References
External links
Ichthyological Bulletin; No. 3: The fishes of the Family Sphyraenidae in the Western Indian Ocean
{{Authority control
Sport fish
Taxa named by Jacob Theodor Klein
Fish of Pakistan
Fish of India
Fish of Bangladesh
Fish of Malaysia
Extant Eocene first appearances
Fish of Saudi Arabia