Bony fish · Scombriformes · Scombridae

Skipjack

Katsuwonus pelamis

Least Concern

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

Katsuwonus pelamis is a fish of the family Scombridae in the order Perciformes. It is known in Spanish by the names listado, rayado and bonito. Its three official FAO names are: listado in Spanish, skipjack tuna in English and bonite à ventre rayé in French. In Chile it is known as atún listado, barrilete, cachurreta or auhopu.

Weight

19 kg on average

Size

up to 1.1 m

Lifespan

12 years

Diet

Carnivore

Feeds mainly on other animals.

Activity

Diurnal

Active mainly during the day.

Social structure

Colony

Lives in large concentrations, often for breeding reasons.

Sighting difficulty

Easy

OceanCarnivore Diurnal Colonial Fish Ocean

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Fun facts

It is the world's most heavily caught tuna by volume, and the one that goes into most tins of light tuna.
It is short-lived for a tuna: it does not get past twelve years, against the forty of the bluefin tuna. That makes its populations respond quickly to fishing, for better and for worse.
In tropical waters mature females spawn almost daily.
It forms very tight schools sorted by size and gathers beneath floating objects, something fisheries exploit with fish aggregating devices.
It is identified by the four to six dark longitudinal stripes on its belly, which no other tuna has.

Life cycle & biology

Skeleton type: Vertebrate - internal bony skeleton (bony fish)
Habitat & environment: Tropical and warm-temperate oceanic pelagic waters worldwide, between 0 and 260 m and between 15 and 30 °C; absent from the Black Sea
Sexual maturity: 3 years

Sources consulted: https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katsuwonus_pelamis