The Carangidae are a

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 ...

ray-finned fish Actinopterygii (; ), members of which are known as ray-finned fishes, is a class of bony fish. They comprise over 50% of living vertebrate species. The ray-finned fishes are so called because their fins are webs of skin supported by bony or h ...

which includes the jacks,

pompano Pompanos ( ) are marine fishes in the genus ''Trachinotus'' in the family Carangidae (better known as "jacks"). Pompano may also refer to various other, similarly shaped members of the Carangidae, or the order Perciformes. Their appearance is o ...

jack mackerel Jack mackerels or saurels are marine fish in the genus ''Trachurus'' of the family Carangidae. The name of the genus derives from the Greek words ''trachys'' ("rough") and ''oura'' ("tail"). Some species, such as ''T. murphyi'', are harvested in ...

s, runners, and scads. It is the largest of the six families included within the

order Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood * Heterarchy, a system of organization wherein the elements have the potential to be ranked a number of ...

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 Car ...

. Some authorities classify it as the only family within that order but molecular and anatomical studies indicate that there is a close relationship between this family and the five former Perciform families which make up the Carangiformes. They are marine fishes found in 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 ...

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

Pacific Ocean 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 ...

s. Most species are fast-swimming predatory fishes that hunt in the waters above

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 component, abiotic processes—deposition (geology), deposition of ...

s and in the open sea; some dig in the sea floor for invertebrates. The largest fish in the family, the

greater amberjack The greater amberjack (''Seriola dumerili''), also known as the allied kingfish, great amberfish, greater yellowtail, jenny lind, Sea donkey, purplish amberjack, reef donkey, rock salmon, sailors choice, yellowtail, and yellow trevally, is a spec ...

, ''Seriola dumerili'', grows up to 2 m in length; most fish in the family reach a maximum length of 25–100 cm. The family contains many important commercial and game fish, notably the

Pacific jack mackerel The Pacific jack mackerel (''Trachurus symmetricus''), also known as the Californian jack mackerel or simply jack mackerel, is an abundant species of pelagic marine fish in the jack family, Carangidae. It is distributed along the western coast o ...

, ''Trachurus symmetricus'', and the other jack mackerels in the genus ''

Trachurus Jack mackerels or saurels are marine fish in the genus ''Trachurus'' of the family Carangidae. The name of the genus derives from the Greek words ''trachys'' ("rough") and ''oura'' ("tail"). Some species, such as ''T. murphyi'', are harvested in ...

''. Many genera have fairly extensive fossil records, particularly ''Caranx'' and ''Seriola'', which extend into the early

Paleogene The Paleogene ( ; also spelled Palaeogene or Palæogene; informally Lower Tertiary or Early Tertiary) is a geologic period and system that spans 43 million years from the end of the Cretaceous Period million years ago (Mya) to the beginning of ...

(late

Thanetian The Thanetian is, in the ICS Geologic timescale, the latest age or uppermost stratigraphic stage of the Paleocene Epoch or Series. It spans the time between . The Thanetian is preceded by the Selandian Age and followed by the Ypresian Age (part ...

), and are known from whole and incomplete specimens, skeletal fragments, and

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 s ...

s. The several extinct genera include ''

Archaeus ''Archaeus'' is an extinct genus of jackfish from the Paleogene of Europe. The oldest species, ''A. oblongus'' is from the late/terminal Thanetian epoch of Paleocene Turkmenistan, and the last species, ''A. glarisianus'' and possibly ''A. brevi ...

'', ''

Pseudovomer ''Pseudovomer minutus'' is an extinct species of prehistoric, Miocene carangid similar to the modern-day lookdown, ''Selene vomer'', that lived during the Messinian subepoch of what is now Sicily. See also * Prehistoric fish * List of prehis ...

'', and ''

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 ...

''.

Subfamilies and genera

The family Carangidae is subdivided into the following

subfamilies In biological classification, a subfamily (Latin: ', plural ') is an auxiliary (intermediate) taxonomic rank, next below family but more inclusive than genus. Standard nomenclature rules end subfamily botanical names with "-oideae", and zoologi ...

and

genera 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 ...

: * Subfamily

Trachinotinae Trachinotinae is a subfamily of the family Carangidae, the jacks and pompanos. Genera Two genera Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In t ...

Gill A gill () is a respiratory organ that many aquatic organisms use to extract dissolved oxygen from water and to excrete carbon dioxide. The gills of some species, such as hermit crabs, have adapted to allow respiration on land provided they ar ...

, 1861 ** Genus ''

Lichia The leerfish or garrick (''Lichia amia'') is a species of marine fish in the family Carangidae, and is native to the Mediterranean and the coastal waters of western Africa to the coastal waters of eastern South Africa.Van Der Elst, R. (1993). '' ...

'' Cuvier, 1816 ** Genus '' Trachinotus'' Lacepède, 1801 * Subfamily

Scomberoidinae Scomberoidinae is a subfamily of ray-finned fish from the family Carangidae which consists of three genera and 10 species. The species in this subfamily have been given the common names leatherjacket and queenfish. Genera The following genera a ...

Gill, 1890 ** Genus ''

Oligoplites ''Oligoplites'' is a genus of carangid leatherjackets native to warmer seas off the Americas, including the East Pacific, West Atlantic, Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico. Species The currently recognized species in this genus are: * '' Oligopli ...

'' Gill, 1863 ** Genus ''

Parona Parona is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Pavia in the Italian region Lombardy, located about 40 km southwest of Milan and about 35 km northwest of Pavia. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 1,793 and an area o ...

'' C. Berg, 1895 ** Genus ''

Scomberoides ''Scomberoides'' is a genus of carangids, known as the queenfishes, native to the Indian Ocean and the western Pacific Ocean. The species in this genus may be venomous with the venom found on the spines of the dorsal and anal fins. Abstract Spe ...

'' Lacepède, 1801 * Subfamily Naucratinae

Bleeker Bleeker is a Dutch occupational surname. Bleeker is an old spelling of ''(linnen)bleker'' ("linen bleacher").Campogramma The vadigo, ''Campogramma glaycos'' (also known as the big-toothed pompano, zippered pompano, lexa and lexola), is a species of medium-sized coastal marine fish in the jack family, Carangidae. The species is distributed throughout the eastern ...

Regan The family name Regan, along with its cognates O'Regan, O Regan, Reagan, and O'Reagan, is an Anglicized form of the Irish surname Ó Riagáin or Ó Ríogáin, from Ua Riagáin. The meaning is likely to have originated in ancient Gaelic ''ri' ...

, 1903 ** Genus ''

Elagatis The rainbow runner (''Elagatis bipinnulata''), also known as the rainbow yellowtail, Spanish jack and Hawaiian salmon, is a common species of pelagic marine fish of the jack family, Carangidae. The species is widespread throughout the tropical and ...

'' F.D. Bennett, 1840 ** Genus ''

Naucrates The pilot fish (''Naucrates ductor'') is a carnivorous fish of the trevally, or jackfish family, Carangidae. It is widely distributed and lives in warm or tropical open seas. Description The pilot fish congregates around sharks, rays, and sea ...

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 ...

, 1810 ** Genus ''

Seriola ''Seriola'' is a genus of ray-finned fish, with many species commonly known as amberjacks. Nine extant species are currently recognized, although these were formerly split into many more. Also, several species are currently placed in several oth ...

'' Bleeker, 1854 ** Genus '' Seriolina'' Wakiya, 1924 * Subfamily

Caranginae Caranginae is a subfamily of ray-finned fish from the family Carangidae which consists of twenty genera Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. ...

Rafinesque, 1815 ** Genus ''

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 the ...

'' Rafinesque, 1815 ** Genus ''

Alepes ''Alepes'' is a genus containing five extant species of tropical marine fishes in the jack family, Carangidae. They are commonly known as scads, a term applied to many genera of carangid fishes. Their body form, however, differs from these other ...

'' Swainson, 1839 ** Genus '' Atropus'' Oken, 1817 ** Genus ''

Atule The yellowtail scad (''Atule mate'') (also known as the northern yellowtail scad, one-finlet scad, deep trevally and ''omaka''), is an abundant species of small inshore marine fish of the jack family, Carangidae. The species is widespread in the ...

'' D.S. Jordan & E.K. Jordan, 1922 ** Genus ''

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 i ...

'' Bleeker, 1851 ** Genus ''

Caranx ''Caranx'' is a genus of tropical to subtropical marine fishes in the jack family Carangidae, commonly known as jacks, trevallies and kingfishes. They are moderate- to large-sized, deep-bodied fishes which are distinguished from other carangid ge ...

'' Lacepède, 1801 ** Genus '' Chloroscombrus'' Girard, 1858 ** Genus ''

Decapterus ''Decapterus'' is a genus of marine fishes of jack family, Carangidae, commonly known as mackerel scads, round scads, or horse mackerel. They are found throughout the world. Species Currently, 10 or 12 recognized species are found in this genus: ...

'' Bleeker, 1851 ** Genus '' Gnathodon'' Bleeker, 1850 ** Genus '' Hemicaranx'' Bleeker, 1862 ** Genus ''

Megalaspis The torpedo scad (''Megalaspis cordyla''), also known as the hardtail scad, finny scad, finletted mackerel scad or cordyla scad, is a species of moderately large marine fish classified in the jack and horse mackerel family, Carangidae. The torpe ...

'' Bleeker, 1851 ** Genus ''

Pantolabus The fringefin trevally (''Pantolabus radiatus''), also called fringe-finned trevally, round-finned trevally or reef herring, is a species of inshore marine fish classified in the jack and horse mackerel family Carangidae. A relatively small f ...

'' Whitley, 1931 ** Genus ''

Parastromateus The black pomfret (''Parastromateus niger'') is a species of carangid native to reefs of the Indian Ocean and western Pacific Ocean. This species is very important to local fisheries and is the only known member of its genus. Taxonomy The b ...

'' Bleeker, 1864 ** Genus ''

Pseudocaranx ''Pseudocaranx'' is a genus of ray-finned fishes from the family Carangidae, the jacks, trevallies, scads, and pompanos. They occur in the western Atlantic Ocean and the Indo-Pacific. Species Four recognized species are placed in this genus: * ' ...

'' Bleeker, 1863 ** Genus '' Selar'' Bleeker, 1851 ** Genus '' Selaroides'' Bleeker, 1851 ** Genus ''

Selene In ancient Greek mythology and religion, Selene (; grc-gre, Σελήνη , meaning "Moon"'' A Greek–English Lexicon's.v. σελήνη) is the goddess and the personification of the Moon. Also known as Mene, she is traditionally the daughte ...

'' Lacepède, 1802 ** Genus ''

'' Rafinesque, 1810 ** Genus '' Ulua'' D.S. Jordan & Snyder, 1908 ** Genus ''

Uraspis ''Uraspis'' is a genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological ...

'' Bleeker, 1855

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q501728 Carangiformes Marine fish families Taxa named by Constantine Samuel Rafinesque