Bony fish · Perciformes · Sphyraenidae

Great Barracuda

Sphyraena barracuda

Least Concern

The species is abundant and widely distributed; it faces no significant short-term risk. See full glossary

An ambush predator with an elongated, torpedo-shaped body, a jutting lower jaw and uneven conical teeth set in sockets. It combines a very narrow frontal profile with silvery colouring that reduces its visibility to prey.

Weight

2.5 kg – 46.7 kg

Size

60 cm – 2 m

Lifespan

14 years

Diet

Carnivore

Feeds mainly on other animals.

Activity

Diurnal

Active mainly during the day.

Social structure

Solitary

Lives and hunts alone, joining others only to breed.

Sighting difficulty

Easy

Carnivore Diurnal Solitary Fish

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Fun facts

Some of its teeth point backwards, so that slippery prey cannot wriggle free once caught.
It has been seen herding shoals of fish into shallow water and standing guard over them until it is hungry again.
Its flesh can accumulate ciguatoxin, so over much of its range it is not eaten.

Life cycle & biology

Skeleton type: Vertebrate - internal bony skeleton (bony fish)
Habitat & environment: Tropical and warm temperate waters of the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific oceans, between 0 and 100 m deep. The juveniles occupy mangroves, estuaries and seagrass beds; the adults, deep reefs and open water
Size at birth: The juveniles measure roughly 1 cm when they settle in the estuaries
Sexual maturity: Males: around 3 years | Females: around 4 years
Gestation / incubation: Oviparous with external fertilisation; spawning takes place in deep water on the open sea
Litter / clutch size: Between 5,000 and 30,000 eggs per female; a spawning season from April to October

Sources consulted: FishBase; MarineBio; Animal Diversity Web; Universidad de las Indias Occidentales (ficha Sphyraena barracuda); Virginia Aquarium & Marine Science Center; IUCN Red List (e.T190399A115319634)