The smallspotted dart (''Trachinotus baillonii'') is an

Indo-Pacific The Indo-Pacific is a vast biogeographic region of Earth. In a narrow sense, sometimes known as the Indo-West Pacific or Indo-Pacific Asia, it comprises the tropical waters of the Indian Ocean, the western and central Pacific Ocean, and the ...

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), ...

pompano Pompanos ( ) are saltwater fish, marine fish in the genus ''Trachinotus'' in the family (biology), family Carangidae (better known as "slabs"). Pompano may also refer to various other, similarly shaped members of the Carangidae, or the Order (bi ...

in the family

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

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Description

''Trachinotus baillonii'' can reach a maximum length of in males and a maximum weight of . The body color varies from silvery blue to grey above, with some small black spots on the flanks. The number of these spots increases with age. This fish is silvery white below. It has large, strong fins, a forked tail, and a narrow base. It feeds on small fishes.

Distribution and habitat

This species is widespread in the

, from the

Red Sea The Red Sea is a sea inlet of the Indian Ocean, lying between Africa and Asia. Its connection to the ocean is in the south, through the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait and the Gulf of Aden. To its north lie the Sinai Peninsula, the Gulf of Aqaba, and th ...

and coast of East Africa to the

Gambier Islands The Gambier Islands ( or ) are an archipelago in French Polynesia, located at the southeast terminus of the Tuamotu archipelago. They cover an area of , and are made up of the Mangareva Islands, a group of high islands remnants of a caldera alo ...

and southern Japan. In the

Marquesas Islands The Marquesas Islands ( ; or ' or ' ; Marquesan language, Marquesan: ' (North Marquesan language, North Marquesan) and ' (South Marquesan language, South Marquesan), both meaning "the land of men") are a group of volcano, volcanic islands in ...

, it is replaced by the similar Marquesas dart (''T. macrospilus''). The smallspotted dart is a reef-associated species. It can be found in lagoons and seaward reefs, usually in schools near the surface of waters.

Species description and etymology

''Trachinotus baillonii'' was formally described in 1801 by the

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

naturalist Natural history is a domain of inquiry involving organisms, including animals, fungi, and plants, in their natural environment, leaning more towards observational than experimental methods of study. A person who studies natural history is cal ...

Bernard Germain de Lacépède Bernard-Germain-Étienne de La Ville-sur-Illon, comte de Lacépède or La Cépède (; 26 December 17566 October 1825) was a French natural history, naturalist and an active freemason. He is known for his contribution to the Comte de Buffon's g ...

(1726-1825) as ''Caesiomorus bailloni'', the name having been written in a manuscript by

Philibert Commerson Philibert Commerson (; 18 November 1727 – 14 March 1773), sometimes spelled Commerçon by contemporaries, was a French naturalist, best known for accompanying Louis Antoine de Bougainville on his voyage of circumnavigation in 1766–1769. ...

but was not formally published. The identity of the person honoured in the

specific name Specific name may refer to: * in Database management systems, a system-assigned name that is unique within a particular database In taxonomy, either of these two meanings, each with its own set of rules: * Specific name (botany), the two-part (bino ...

is not clear but is either the French naturalist

Louis Antoine François Baillon Louis Antoine François Baillon (20 January 1778 – 2 December 1855) was a French naturalist and collector. He was born in Montreuil-sur-Mer and died in Abbeville. Baillon's crake is named for him, as is Baillon's shearwater and '' Baillonius bai ...

(1778-1851), or his father

Jean François Emmanuel Baillon Jean may refer to: People * Jean (female given name) * Jean (male given name) * Jean (surname) Fictional characters * Jean Grey, a Marvel Comics character * Jean Valjean, fictional character in novel ''Les Misérables'' and its adaptations * Jean ...

(1742-1801), who was also a naturalist.

References

* Eschmeyer, William N., ed. 1998. Catalog of Fishes. Special Publication of the Center for Biodiversity Research and Information, n. 1, vol. 1-3. California Academy of Sciences. San Francisco,

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, United States. 2905. . * Fenner, Robert M.: ''The Conscientious Marine Aquarist''. Neptune City,

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

, United States : T.F.H. Publications, 2001. * Helfman, G., B. Collette y D. Facey: ''The diversity of fishes''. Blackwell Science, Malden, Massachusetts, United States, 1997. * Hoese, D.F. 1986: . A M.M. Smith y P.C. Heemstra (eds.) Smiths' sea fishes. Springer-Verlag, Berlín, Germany. * Maugé, L.A. 1986. A J. Daget, J.-P. Gosse y D.F.E. Thys van den Audenaerde (eds.) Check-list of the freshwater fishes of Africa (CLOFFA). ISNB

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

; MRAC; y ORSTOM,

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, France. Vol. 2. * Moyle, P. y J. Cech.: ''Fishes: An Introduction to Ichthyology'', 4th. ed., Upper Saddle River,

, United States: Prentice-Hall. 2000. * Nelson, J.: ''

Fishes of the World ''Fishes of the World'' is a standard reference for the systematics of fishes. It was first written in 1976 by the American ichthyologist Joseph S. Nelson (1937–2011). Now in its fifth edition (2016), the work is a comprehensive overview of t ...

'', 3rd. Ed.

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, United States: John Wiley and Sons. 1994. * Wheeler, A.: ''The World Encyclopedia of Fishes'', 2nd. Ed.,

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

: Macdonald. 1985. {{Taxonbar, from=Q33021 smallspotted dart Fish of the Pacific Ocean Taxa named by Bernard Germain de Lacépède smallspotted dart