Blackfin Barracuda, Sphyraena qenie Klunzinger 1870
Blackfin Barracuda, Sphyraena qenie, at the Snake Pit near Lizard Island, Great Barrier Reef, Queensland. Source: Anne Hoggett / Lizard Island Field Guide, http://lifg.australianmuseum.net.au/. License: CC By Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike
A large barracuda with many dark bars along the body, each bar oblique above the midline and almost vertical on the lower sides, and a largely blackish caudal fin. Adult Blackfin Barracuda have a pair of small lobes on the rear margin of the caudal fin near the middle of the fin.
One of the largest barracudas, the Blackfin Barracuda grows to 1.7 m and almost 30 kg in weight and is found in inshore waters and on coral reefs.
Blackfin Barracuda, Sphyraena qenie Klunzinger 1870
More Info
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Distribution |
Ningaloo Reef, Western Australia, around the tropical north to at least the Solitary Islands, New South Wales. Elsewhere the species is widespread in the Indo-Pacific. During the day, this species forms large, slow-moving schools near current-swept lagoon and seaward reefs. |
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Features |
Dorsal fin VI, 9; Anal fin II, 7-9; Lateral line scales 127-130. Maxilla (upper jaw) reaching to just below anterior margin of eye; Gill rakers absent from first arch, upper and lower gill arch with rough platelets that lack distinct spines. First dorsal fin origin posterior to pelvic fin origin; pectoral fin tip reaching to beyond origin of first dorsal fin; caudal fin forked, adults with a pair of small lobes on the posterior margin close to the midline. |
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Size |
To at least 170 cm and at least 29 kg. |
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Colour |
Dull blue dorsally, silvery on sides, fading to white ventrally. Numerous dark bars, extending below lateral line. Bars oblique above lateral line, almost vertical below. Caudal fin mostly black. |
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Fisheries |
Of no interest to commercial fisheries. Highly prized by recreational anglers, often taken on lures trolled at dawn or dusk. |
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Conservation |
None. |
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Similar Species |
Confusing species are Sphyraena jello and S. putnamae, the former has a yellow caudal fin which lacks lobes on the posterior margin, and the latter is distinguishable by the elongated fin ray (most posterior ray) on the second dorsal fin. |
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Species Citation |
Sphyraena qenie Klunzinger 1870, Verhandlungen der K.-K. zoologisch-botanischen Gesellschaft in Wien 20: 823. Type locality: Al-Quseir (as Kosseir), Egypt, Red Sea. |
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Author |
Bray, D.J. 2022 |
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Resources |
Blackfin Barracuda, Sphyraena qenie Klunzinger 1870
References
Allen, G.R. 1997. Marine Fishes of Tropical Australia and South-east Asia. Perth : Western Australian Museum 292 pp. 106 pls.
Allen, G.R. & Erdmann, M.V. 2012. Reef fishes of the East Indies. Perth : Tropical Reef Research 3 vols, 1260 pp.
Hutchins, J.B. 2003. Checklist of marine fishes of the Dampier Archipelago, Western Australia. pp. 453-478 in Wells, F.E., Walker, D.I., & Jones, D.S. (eds). Proceedings of the Eleventh International Marine Biological Workshop: The Marine Flora and Fauna of Dampier, Western Australia. Perth : Western Australian Museum.
Johnson, J.W. 2010. Fishes of the Moreton Bay Marine Park and adjacent continental shelf waters, Queensland, Australia. pp. 299-353 in Davie, P.J.F. & Phillips, J.A. Proceedings of the Thirteenth International Marine Biological Workshop, The Marine Fauna and Flora of Moreton Bay. Memoirs of the Queensland Museum 54(3)
Johnson, J.W. & Gill, A.C. 2005. Reef and shore fishes of Sweers Island, Gulf of Carpentaria. Gulf of Carpentaria Scientific Study Report. Geography Monograph Series. Brisbane: Royal Geographic Society of Queensland. pp. 239-260
Klunzinger, C.B. 1870. Synopsis der Fische des Rothen Meeres, 1. Verhandlungen der Zoologisch-Botanischen Gesellschaft in Wien 20: 669-834
Randall, J.E., Allen, G.R. & Steene, R. 1990. Fishes of the Great Barrier Reef and Coral Sea. Bathurst : Crawford House Press 507 pp. figs.
Randall, J.E., Allen, G.R. & Steene, R. 1997. Fishes of the Great Barrier Reef and Coral Sea. Bathurst : Crawford House Press 557 pp. figs.
Senou, H. 2001. Sphyraenidae. pp. 3685-3697 in Carpenter, K.E. & Niem, T.H. (eds). The Living Marine Resources of the Western Central Pacific. FAO Species Identification Guide for Fisheries Purposes. Rome : FAO Vol. 6 pp. 3381-4218.
