Silvermouth Trevally, Ulua aurochs (Ogilby 1915)


Other Names: Black-crested Trevally, Longraker Trevally, Mirror-mouthed Trevally

Silvermouth Trevally, Ulua aurochs. Source: Australian National Fish Collection, CSIRO. License: CC BY Attribution-Noncommercial

Summary:
A deep-bodied bluish to silvery-blue trevally with broad diffuse bars on the sides, inside of mouth and tongue brilliant mirror-like silver inside the mouth and on the tongue, and a very long filament on the dorsal fin. 
Silvermouth Trevally have numerous very long featherlike gill rakers that project into the mouth alongside the tongue. Older individuals also have a prominent chin that protrudes well beyond the upper jaw.

Cite this page as:
Dianne J. Bray, Ulua aurochs in Fishes of Australia, accessed 19 Mar 2024, https://fishesofaustralia.net.au/home/species/2997

Silvermouth Trevally, Ulua aurochs (Ogilby 1915)

More Info


Distribution

Found in northern Australia from off Geraldton, Western Australia, to Ayr, south of Townsville, Queensland. The species occurs elsewhere in the tropical, west Pacific (New Guinea and Taiwan).

Features

Dorsal fin VIII + I, 21-22; Anal fin lI + 1, 17-18; Gill rakers 16-21 + 37-41 = 54-61; Scutes 31-40.
Snout 6.2-7.8%; eye 9. 1-10.3%; head length 26.7-27.9%. Gill rakers long and slender, partly projecting into mouth beside tongue; naked area on breast reaches up to pectoral base and occasionally extends dorsally in a narrow band to lateral line; snout short, 1.25-1.40 in eye; tongue with narrow central band of villiform teeth; scutes weak. 
Body oval, strongly compressed. First soft dorsal fin ray produced to long filament, in juveniles reaching beyond caudal tip; in large males, first 5-8 soft dorsal fin rays produced to filaments; anterior rays of soft anal fin slightly produced in both sexes, but not to filaments; pectoral fins falcate, reaching to well beyond junction of straight and curved lateral line segments. Curved lateral line moderately arched, shorter than straight lateral line (CLL/SLL = 0.70-0.89). Lower jaw protrudes slightly beyond upper jaw; maxilla extends to below anterior margin to middle of eye; cleft of mouth level with lower margin of eye. Villiform teeth on both jaws, vomer and palatines.

Colour

Body blue to silvery blue above; silver below; dorsal surface of head dark blue to black; operculum with diffuse dark spot; lower jaw, inside of mouth and tongue brilliant silver (mirror-like). Dorsal filaments and inner rays of soft anal fin black; other fins dusky to hyaline. Juveniles have 5-6 dark, vertical crossbands through body. 

Feeding

Carnivore - feeds mostly on small crustaceans and cephalopods. 

Fisheries

Of minor commercial and recreational importance. In the Timor and Arafura Seas and the Gulf of Carpentaria, the Silvermouth Trevally is often taken in trawls with Carangoides hedlandensis, C. humerosus and Caranx bucculentus. 

Species Citation

Citula aurochs Ogilby 1915, Mem. Qld Mus. 3: 79, pl. 25. Type locality: Edgecumbe Bay, QLD. 

Author

Dianne J. Bray

Resources

Australian Faunal Directory

Silvermouth Trevally, Ulua aurochs (Ogilby 1915)

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. & Swainston, R. 1988. The Marine Fishes of North-Western Australia. A field guide for anglers and divers. Perth, WA : Western Australian Museum vi 201 pp., 70 pls.

Grant, E.M. 1975. Guide to Fishes. Brisbane : Queensland Government, Co-ordinator General’s Department 640 pp.

Grant, E.M. 2002. Guide to Fishes. Redcliffe : EM Grant Pty Ltd 880 pp.

Gunn, J.S. 1990. Revision of selected genera of the family Carangidae (Pisces) from Australian waters. Records of the Australian Museum Supplement 12: 1–77. PDF Open access

Ogilby, J.D. 1915. Edible fishes of Queensland. Part 3 — Carangidae (No. 1). Memoirs of the Queensland Museum 3: 57-98 figs 19-28

Russell, B.C. & Houston, W. 1989. Offshore fishes of the Arafura Sea. The Beagle 6(1): 69-84.

Sainsbury, K.J., Kailola, P.J. & Leyland, G.G. 1985. Continental Shelf Fishes of Northern and North-Western Australia. Canberra : Fisheries Information Service 375 pp. figs & pls. (as Carangoides aurochs)

Smith-Vaniz, W.F. 1999. Family Carangidae. pp. 2659-2756 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. 4 pp. 2069-2790.

Quick Facts


CAAB Code:37337041

Depth:usually above 70 m

Habitat:Pelagic, inshore

Max Size:50 cm TL

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CAAB distribution map