''Caranx'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...

tropical The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the Equator. They are defined in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the Northern Hemisphere at N and the Tropic of Capricorn in the Southern Hemisphere at S. The tropics are also referred to ...

to subtropical marine

fish Fish are aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish as well as various extinct related groups. Approximately 95% of ...

es in the jack family

Carangidae The Carangidae are a family of ray-finned fish which includes the jacks, pompanos, jack mackerels, runners, and scads. It is the largest of the six families included within the order Carangiformes. Some authorities classify it as the only family ...

, commonly known as jacks, trevallies and kingfishes. They are moderate- to large-sized, deep-bodied fishes which are distinguished from other carangid genera by specific

gill raker Gill rakers in fish are bony or cartilaginous processes that project from the branchial arch (gill arch) and are involved with suspension feeding tiny prey. They are not to be confused with the gill filaments that compose the fleshy part of the ...

fin ray 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 see ...

and dentition characteristics. The genus is represented in the

Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the contine ...

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

and

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

s, inhabiting both inshore and offshore regions, ranging from

estuaries An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environmen ...

and bays to deep

reef A reef is a ridge or shoal of rock, coral or similar relatively stable material, lying beneath the surface of a natural body of water. Many reefs result from natural, abiotic processes— deposition of sand, wave erosion planing down rock o ...

s and offshore islands. All species are powerful predators, taking a variety of fish,

crustacean Crustaceans (Crustacea, ) form a large, diverse arthropod taxon which includes such animals as decapods, seed shrimp, branchiopods, fish lice, krill, remipedes, isopods, barnacles, copepods, amphipods and mantis shrimp. The crustacean group can ...

s and cephalopods, while they in turn are prey to larger

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 do live on or near the bottom, and reef fish that are associated with coral re ...

es and

shark Sharks are a group of elasmobranch fish characterized by a cartilaginous skeleton, five to seven gill slits on the sides of the head, and pectoral fins that are not fused to the head. Modern sharks are classified within the clade Selachi ...

s. A number of fish in the genus have a reputation as powerful

gamefish Game fish, sport fish or quarry refer to popular fish pursued by recreational anglers, and can be freshwater or saltwater fish. Game fish can be eaten after being caught, or released after capture. Some game fish are also targeted commercia ...

and are highly sought by anglers. They often make up high amounts of the catch in various fisheries, but are generally considered poor to fair

table fish Many species of fish are caught by humans and consumed as food in virtually all regions around the world. Fish has been an important dietary source of protein and other nutrients throughout human history. The English language does not have ...

es.

Taxonomy and naming

The genus ''Caranx'' is one of 30 currently recognised genera of fish in the jack and horse mackerel

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

Carangidae, this family are part of the order

Carangiformes Carangiformes is an order of the ray-finned fishes. The order is part of a clade which is a sister clade to the Ovalentaria, the other orders in the clade being Synbranchiformes, Anabantiformes, Istiophoriformes and Pleuronectiformes. The Caran ...

. The species has long been placed in the subfamily Caranginae (or tribe Carangini), with modern molecular and genetic studies indicating this subdivision is acceptable, and ''Caranx'' is well defined as a genus. Phylogenetically, the

monotypic In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unispe ...

genus of ''

Gnathanodon The golden trevally (''Gnathanodon speciosus''), also known as the golden kingfish, banded trevally or king trevally, is a species of large marine fish classified in the jack and horse mackerel family Carangidae, and the only member of the monos ...

'' is most closely related to ''Caranx''; and indeed its sole member was once classified under ''Caranx''. ''Caranx'' was created by the French naturalist Bernard Germain de Lacépède in 1801 to accommodate a new species he had described, ''Caranx carangua'' (the

crevalle jack The crevalle jack (''Caranx hippos''), also known as the common jack, black-tailed trevally, couvalli jack, black cavalli, jack crevale, or yellow cavalli is a common species of large marine fish classified within the jack family, Carangidae. The ...

), which was later found to be a junior synonym of ''Scomber hippos'', which in turn was transferred to ''Caranx''. The early days of carangid

taxonomy Taxonomy is the practice and science of categorization or classification. A taxonomy (or taxonomical classification) is a scheme of classification, especially a hierarchical classification, in which things are organized into groups or types. ...

had over 100 'species' designated as members of the genus, most of which were synonyms, and a number of genera were created which were later synonymised with ''Caranx''. ''Caranx'' took authority over these other genera names due to its prior description, rendering the rest as invalid junior synonyms. Today, after extensive reviews of the family, 18 species are considered valid by major taxonomic authorities Fishbase and

ITIS The Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) is an American partnership of federal agencies designed to provide consistent and reliable information on the taxonomy of biological species. ITIS was originally formed in 1996 as an interagen ...

, although many other species are unable to be properly validated due to poor descriptions. The fish in the genus are commonly referred to as jacks, trevallies or kingfishes. Like the genus ''Carangoides'', the word ''Caranx'' is derived from the French ''carangue'', used for some fishes of the Caribbean.

Species

The 18 currently recognized extant species in this genus are:

Evolution

The first representative of ''Caranx'' found in the fossil record dates back to the mid-

Eocene The Eocene ( ) Epoch is a geological epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (mya). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period in the modern Cenozoic Era. The name ''Eocene'' comes from the Ancient Greek (''ēṓs'', " ...

, a period when many modern

Perciform Perciformes (), also called the Percomorpha or Acanthopteri, is an order or superorder of ray-finned fish. If considered a single order, they are the most numerous order of vertebrates, containing about 41% of all bony fish. Perciformes means " ...

lineages appeared.

Fossil A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved ...

s mostly consist of

otolith An otolith ( grc-gre, ὠτο-, ' ear + , ', a stone), also called statoconium or otoconium or statolith, is a calcium carbonate structure in the saccule or utricle of the inner ear, specifically in the vestibular system of vertebrates. The sa ...

s, with the bony skeletal material rarely preserved. They are generally found in shallow marine or

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 ...

sedimentary deposits. A number of extinct species have been definitively identified and scientifically named, including: *''Caranx annectens'' Stinton, 1980 Eocene,

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

*''Caranx carangopsis'' Steindachner, 1859 Cenozoic,

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

*''Caranx daniltshenkoi'' Bannikov, 1990 Cenozoic,

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

*''Caranx exilis'' Rueckert-Uelkuemen, 1995 Cenozoic,

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...

*''Caranx extenuatus'' Stinton, 1980 Eocene, England *''Caranx gigas'' Rueckert-Uelkuemen, 1995 Cenozoic, Turkey *''Caranx gracilis'' Kramberger, 1882 Oligocene-Lower Miocene,

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, and ...

*''Caranx hagni'' Rueckert-Uelkuemen, 1995 Cenozoic, Turkey *''Caranx macoveii'' Pauca, 1929 Oligocene-Lower Miocene, Romania *''Caranx petrodavae'' Simionescu, 1905 Oligocene-Lower Miocene, Romania *''Caranx praelatus'' Stinton, 1980 Eocene, England *''Caranx primaevus'' Eastman, 1904 Eocene,

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

(may be attributable to own genus ''

Eastmanalepes ''Eastmanalepes primaevus'' is an extinct species of prehistoric jack fish that lived from the Lutetian epoch, of what is now Monte Bolca, Italy. It was originally described as a species of the jackfish genus ''Caranx'', of which it has a super ...

'') *''Caranx quietus'' Bannikov, 1990 Cenozoic, Russia

Description

The species in the genus ''Caranx'' are all moderately large to very large fishes, growing from around 50 cm in length to a known maximum length of 1.7 m and 80 kg in weight; a size which is only achieved by the giant trevally, ''Caranx ignobilis'', the largest species of ''Caranx''. In their general body profile, they are similar to a number of other jack genera, having a deep, compressed body with a

dorsal Dorsal (from Latin ''dorsum'' ‘back’) may refer to: * Dorsal (anatomy), an anatomical term of location referring to the back or upper side of an organism or parts of an organism * Dorsal, positioned on top of an aircraft's fuselage * Dorsal c ...

profile more convex than the

ventral Standard anatomical terms of location are used to unambiguously describe the anatomy of animals, including humans. The terms, typically derived from Latin or Greek roots, describe something in its standard anatomical position. This position prov ...

. The

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 c ...

is in two parts, the first consisting of 8 spines and the second of one spine and between 16 and 25

soft rays Fish anatomy is the study of the form or morphology of fish. It can be contrasted with fish physiology, which is the study of how the component parts of fish function together in the living fish. In practice, fish anatomy and fish physiology co ...

. The anal fin has one or two detached anterior spines, with 1 spine and between 14 and 19 soft rays. 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 ...

is strongly forked. All species have moderate to very strong

scute A scute or scutum (Latin: ''scutum''; plural: ''scuta'' "shield") is a bony external plate or scale overlaid with horn, as on the shell of a turtle, the skin of crocodilians, and the feet of birds. The term is also used to describe the anterior po ...

s on the posterior section of their lateral lines. All members of ''Caranx'' are all generally silver to grey in colour, with shades of blue or green dorsally, while some species have coloured spots on their flanks. Fin colours range from hyaline to yellow, blue and black. The specific characteristics that distinguish the genus relate to specific anatomical details, with these being a

count between 20 and 31 on the first gill arch, 2 to 4 canines anteriorly positioned in each

jaw The jaw is any opposable articulated structure at the entrance of the mouth, typically used for grasping and manipulating food. The term ''jaws'' is also broadly applied to the whole of the structures constituting the vault of the mouth and serv ...

, and dorsal and anal rays which are never produced into filaments as seen in genera such as ''

Alectis ''Alectis'' is a genus of fish in the family Carangidae containing three extant species, all of which are large marine fishes. They are commonly known as threadfish, diamond trevallies or pompanos, although they have no close affiliation with ...

'' and ''

Carangoides ''Carangoides'' is a genus of tropical to subtropical marine fishes in the jack family, Carangidae. They are small- to large-sized, deep-bodied fish characterised by a certain gill raker and jaw morphology, often appearing very similar to jacks ...

''.

Distribution and habitat

Species from the genus ''Caranx'' are distributed throughout the

and subtropical waters of the world, inhabiting the

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...

and

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by t ...

s. They are known from the coasts of all

continent A continent is any of several large landmasses. Generally identified by convention rather than any strict criteria, up to seven geographical regions In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas t ...

s and

island An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...

s (including remote offshore islands) within this range, and have a fairly even species distribution, with no particular region having unusually high amounts of ''Caranx'' species. Most species are

coastal fish Coastal fish, also called inshore fish or neritic fish, inhabit the sea between the shoreline and the edge of the continental shelf. Since the continental shelf is usually less than deep, it follows that pelagic coastal fish are generally epi ...

, and very few venture into waters further offshore than the continental shelf, and these species are generally moved by

ocean currents An ocean current is a continuous, directed movement of sea water generated by a number of forces acting upon the water, including wind, the Coriolis effect, breaking waves, cabbeling, and temperature and salinity differences. Depth contour ...

. They inhabit a range of environments including sand flats, bays,

lagoon A lagoon is a shallow body of water separated from a larger body of water by a narrow landform, such as reefs, barrier islands, barrier peninsulas, or isthmuses. Lagoons are commonly divided into ''coastal lagoons'' (or ''barrier lagoons'') ...

sea mount A seamount is a large geologic landform that rises from the ocean floor that does not reach to the water's surface (sea level), and thus is not an island, islet or cliff-rock. Seamounts are typically formed from extinct volcanoes that rise abru ...

s and

. Most species are demersal, or bottom dwelling, in nature, while others are

pelagic The pelagic zone consists of the water column of the open ocean, and can be further divided into regions by depth (as illustrated on the right). The word ''pelagic'' is derived . The pelagic zone can be thought of as an imaginary cylinder or w ...

, moving long distances in the upper water column.

Biology and fisheries

The level of biological information known about each species in ''Caranx'' is generally related to how important they are commercially. All species are

predator Predation is a biological interaction where one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation (which usually do not kill th ...

y fish, taking smaller fish,

s and cephalopods as prey. Most species form schools as juveniles, but generally become more solitary with age. Reproduction and growth has been studied in a number of species, with these characteristics varying greatly between species. All species in ''Caranx'' are of at least minor importance to fisheries, but a number are much more so due to their abundance in certain regions. Most are considered to be

, with some such as the giant trevally and

bluefin trevally The bluefin trevally (''Caranx melampygus''), also known as the bluefin jack, bluefin kingfish, bluefinned crevalle, blue ulua, omilu, and spotted trevally), is a species of large, widely distributed marine fish classified in the jack family, Ca ...

highly sought after by

angler Angler may refer to: * A fisherman who uses the fishing technique of angling * ''Angler'' (video game) * The angler, ''Lophius piscatorius'', a monkfish * More generally, any anglerfish in the order Lophiiformes * '' Angler: The Cheney Vice Pres ...

s. They are generally considered poor to fair quality

es, and have had a number 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 ...

poisoning cases attributed to them.

References

External links

Caranx at Fishbase
{{Taxonbar, from=Q139783 Caranginae Extant Eocene first appearances Taxa named by Bernard Germain de Lacépède Marine fish genera