Summary ⁶

The bigeye scad (Selar crumenophthalmus) is an oceanic fish found in tropical regions around the globe. Other common names include mas bango, akule, chicharro, charrito ojón, purse-eye scad, coulirou, and goggle-eyed scad. The bigeye scad is fished commercially and is important in aquaculture.

Description ⁷

  Common names: scad (English), jurel (Espanol), charrito (Espanol)
 
Selar crumenophthalmus (Bloch, 1793)


Bigeye scad,     Purse-eyed scad



Body elongate, fusiform, moderately compressed; eye covered with fatty eyelid, with vertical slit in center; margin of bone at rear end of gill chamber with 2 papillae, 1 small one at top, 1 large one at bottom, bottom one with large notch below it; gill rakers 9-12 + 27-37; dorsal rays VIII+I, 24-27, 2 fins close together, no free spines at front; anal rays II free spines +I, 21-23;  no isolated finlets after dorsal & anal fins; pectoral longer than head; lateral line extension to nape ends before origin of dorsal fin; front curved part of lateral line with a long, low arch, straight part with 0-11 scales and 29-42 scutes; body more or less covered with small scales.


Metallic blue to bluish green above, shading to white below; yellow stripe sometimes present from opercle margin to upper part of caudal fin base.


Size: to 30 cm.

Habitat: pelagic, forms inshore schools.

Depth: 0-170 m.

Worldwide in tropical and subtropical seas; Central Baja and the Gulf of California to Ecuador and the oceanic islands.
   

Distribution ⁸

Western Atlantic: Nova Scotia, Canada and Bermuda to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; throughout the Bahamas, Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea

Morphology ⁹

Dorsal spines (total): 9; Dorsal soft rays (total): 24 - 27; Analspines: 3; Analsoft rays: 21 - 23

Size ¹⁰

Maximum size: 600 mm SL

Description ¹¹

Generally found near the coast or in shallow waters (Ref. 9283). May also be encountered over shallow reefs but may reach depths of 170 m. Prefers clean, clear insular waters (Ref. 9626) but occasionally in turbid waters (Ref. 9283). Mainly nocturnal, it feeds on small shrimp, benthic invertebrates, forams when inshore, and zooplankton and fish larvae when offshore. Travels in compact groups of hundreds of thousands of fish. Juveniles up to 13 cm caught with light tackle (Ref. 4887). Marketed fresh (Ref. 9626).

I dnature guides ¹²

Identification key for shorefishes of the tropical eastern Pacific

Habitat ¹³

Prefers clear oceanic waters around islands to neritic waters.

Diet ¹⁴

Feeds on small shrimps, benthic invertebrates, and forams when inshore, and zooplankton and fish larvae when offshore

Reproduction ¹⁵

Egg Type: Pelagic, Pelagic larva

Link to Access Genomic Data ¹⁶

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/Taxonomy/Browser/wwwtax.cgi?id=146146&lvl=0

Sources and Credits

1. (c) FishWise Professional, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), https://www.fishwisepro.com/pics/jpg/017224F000112W000011.jpg
2. (c) Randall, J.E., some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), http://d1iraxgbwuhpbw.cloudfront.net/images/species/secru_u8.jpg
3. (c) Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of Natural History, Department of Vertebrate Zoology, Division of Fishes, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), https://collections.nmnh.si.edu/services/media.php?env=fishes&irn=10147091
4. (c) FAO, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), http://d1iraxgbwuhpbw.cloudfront.net/images/species/secru_u0.gif
5. (c) FAO, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), http://d1iraxgbwuhpbw.cloudfront.net/images/species/secru_u1.gif
6. Adapted by matbio from a work by (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selar_crumenophthalmus
7. Adapted by matbio from a work by (c) Shorefishes of the tropical eastern Pacific online information system. www.stri.org/sftep, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), http://eol.org/data_objects/26219773
8. Adapted by matbio from a work by (c) WoRMS for SMEBD, some rights reserved (CC BY), http://eol.org/data_objects/28472125
9. Adapted by matbio from a work by (c) FishBase, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), http://eol.org/data_objects/20841786
10. Adapted by matbio from a work by (c) FishWise Professional, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/24181552
11. Adapted by matbio from a work by (c) WoRMS for SMEBD, some rights reserved (CC BY), http://eol.org/data_objects/28495881
12. Adapted by matbio from a work by (c) Discover Life and original sources, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/11586718
13. Adapted by matbio from a work by (c) WoRMS for SMEBD, some rights reserved (CC BY), http://eol.org/data_objects/28475090
14. Adapted by matbio from a work by (c) WoRMS for SMEBD, some rights reserved (CC BY), http://eol.org/data_objects/28476717
15. Adapted by matbio from a work by (c) Shorefishes of the tropical eastern Pacific online information system. www.stri.org/sftep, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), http://eol.org/data_objects/2759725
16. (c) matbio, all rights reserved

More Info

• iNat taxon page
• Animal Diversity Web
• Atlas of Living Australia
• Biodiversity Heritage Library
• BOLD Systems BIN search
• Fish Database of Taiwan
• FishBase
• FishSource
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF)
• NatureServe Explorer 2.0
• VertNet
• World Register of Marine Species

Range Map

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