Bumpnose trevally
Encyclopedia
The bumpnose trevally, Carangoides hedlandensis (also known as the bumpnose kingfish and onion kingfish) is a species
of relatively small inshore marine
fish
classified in the jack family Carangidae
. The bumpnose trevally is fairly common in the tropical and subtropical waters of the Indo-west Pacific
region, ranging from South Africa
in the west to Japan
and Samoa
in the east. It is a small species by carangid standards, reaching a maximum known length of 32 cm, and can be distinguished from the similarly shaped Carangoides armatus by a distinct 'bump' on the snout, which gives the fish its common name. The species inhabits coastal waters, often living along bay
s and beach
es where it takes shrimp
s, small crab
s and juvenile fish as prey. The bumpnose trevally is of minor importance to fisheries throughout its range, taken by hook and line, trawls and seine nets. It is also of minor importance to anglers
, taken by baits from beaches and pier
s, and is considered a modest table fish.
, a group of fish commonly called jacks and trevallies. Carangoides falls into the jack and horse mackerel family Carangidae
, itself part the order Perciformes
, in the suborder Percoidei
.
The species, as it is currently accepted, was first described and classified by the Australia
n ichthyologist Gilbert Percy Whitley
in 1933 based upon a sample taken from Port Hedland in Western Australia
, which was designated to be the holotype
. Whitley named the species Olistus hedlandensis, placing the fish in what was at the time a valid genus of jacks. When Olistus was synonymised
with Carangoides, the fish was placed either in Caranx
or Carangoides, and is currently accepted as belonging in the latter. The specific epithet
refers to the type location of the species, Port Hedland. This was not the first time the fish had been described though, with Georges Cuvier
applying the name Olistus malabaricus to the species in 1833, which would give it priority over Whitley's name. However, when Olistus was merged into Carangoides, a taxonomic homonym
was created with Carangoides malabaricus and thus Whitley's name has been accepted to overcome this problem. The bumpnose trevally is very similar to Carangoides armatus, and appears to have been misidentified as such many times, with 1980 review of the two species finding many misidentified fish in museum
collections.
, which becomes more pronounced with increasing size. The body is compressed and deep, with the head profile very steep in adults, leading to a more convex dorsal profile in comparison to the ventral profile. The dorsal fin
is in two sections, the first consisting of 8 spines while the second has 1 spine and between 20 and 22 soft rays. The anal fin has two anteriorly detached spines followed by 1 spine and 16 to 18 soft rays, while the pelvic fin has 1 spine and 18 soft rays. The lobes of the second dorsal and anal fins are elongate and filamentous, being longer than the head. In males, a number of the central soft rays are also produced into filaments of varying lengths. The lateral line
has a moderate anterior arch, which contains 63 to 70 scale
s, while the straight section has 8 to 14 scales and 21 to 27 scute
s. The curved and straight sections intersect below the tenth to twelfth soft rays of the second dorsal fin. The breast is devoid of scales, with the scaleless area extending to the origin of the pelvic fins and up to the base of the pectoral fins. Both jaws have bands of villiform teeth, which are widest anteriorly. There are a total of 20 to 27 gill raker
s and 24 vertebrae.
The body of the bumpnose trevally is a silvery green-blue above, becoming more silvery white below, with a dark blotch present on the operculum
. The spinous dorsal fin and the soft dorsal fin rays are black, while the anal fin is brownish, with the filaments and lobe often blackish. The caudal fin has black trailing and leading edges, and the pelvic fin is dusky to black. Juveniles often have 5 to 7 vertical crossbars on their sides.
and west Pacific Ocean
s. In the Indian Ocean, the species ranges from South Africa
, Madagascar
and the Seychelles
north along east Africa to Mozambique
, but has no records further north until India
and Sri Lanka
. Its distribution extends into South East Asia, Indonesia
, Papua New Guinea
and northern Australia
, with the species extending as far north as Japan
and as far east as Samoa
in the Pacific.
The bumpnose trevally is an inshore fish, rarely venturing to depths greater than 50 m. It inhabits sandy bay
s and beach
es, and appears to be quite tolerant of turbid waters, often living in the dirty waters near river mouths. Despite this, it appears to have a fairly low tolerance to reduced salinities and is not found in estuaries themselves.
s, small crab
s and fish. Studies on the North West Shelf
of Australia have found the species often aggregates with other carangids, particularly Carangoides humerosus, Ulua aurochs and Selaroides leptolepis, and together these make up a large proportion of the resident fish fauna. Reproduction in the species is very poorly known, with young fish often showing up in South Africa during summer.
The bumpnose trevally is of minor importance to fisheries throughout its range, caught using hook and line, bottom trawls, beach seines and various fish traps. In some areas, such as Fiji
, it is of more importance, but there are no catch statistics available for the species. It is also of minor importance to anglers, often taken from beaches and pier
s using baits, and is considered marginal table fare.
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
of relatively small inshore marine
Marine (ocean)
Marine is an umbrella term. As an adjective it is usually applicable to things relating to the sea or ocean, such as marine biology, marine ecology and marine geology...
fish
Fish
Fish are a paraphyletic group of organisms that consist of all gill-bearing aquatic vertebrate animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish, as well as various extinct related groups...
classified in the jack family Carangidae
Carangidae
Carangidae is a family of fish which includes the jacks, pompanos, jack mackerels, and scads.They are marine fish found in the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans...
. The bumpnose trevally is fairly common in the tropical and subtropical waters of the Indo-west Pacific
Indo-Pacific
The Indo-Pacific is a biogeographic region of the Earth's seas, comprising the tropical waters of the Indian Ocean, the western and central Pacific Ocean, and the seas connecting the two in the general area of Indonesia...
region, ranging from South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
in the west to Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
and Samoa
Samoa
Samoa , officially the Independent State of Samoa, formerly known as Western Samoa is a country encompassing the western part of the Samoan Islands in the South Pacific Ocean. It became independent from New Zealand in 1962. The two main islands of Samoa are Upolu and one of the biggest islands in...
in the east. It is a small species by carangid standards, reaching a maximum known length of 32 cm, and can be distinguished from the similarly shaped Carangoides armatus by a distinct 'bump' on the snout, which gives the fish its common name. The species inhabits coastal waters, often living along bay
Bay
A bay is an area of water mostly surrounded by land. Bays generally have calmer waters than the surrounding sea, due to the surrounding land blocking some waves and often reducing winds. Bays also exist as an inlet in a lake or pond. A large bay may be called a gulf, a sea, a sound, or a bight...
s and beach
Beach
A beach is a geological landform along the shoreline of an ocean, sea, lake or river. It usually consists of loose particles which are often composed of rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles or cobblestones...
es where it takes shrimp
Shrimp
Shrimp are swimming, decapod crustaceans classified in the infraorder Caridea, found widely around the world in both fresh and salt water. Adult shrimp are filter feeding benthic animals living close to the bottom. They can live in schools and can swim rapidly backwards. Shrimp are an important...
s, small crab
Crab
True crabs are decapod crustaceans of the infraorder Brachyura, which typically have a very short projecting "tail" , or where the reduced abdomen is entirely hidden under the thorax...
s and juvenile fish as prey. The bumpnose trevally is of minor importance to fisheries throughout its range, taken by hook and line, trawls and seine nets. It is also of minor importance to anglers
Angling
Angling is a method of fishing by means of an "angle" . The hook is usually attached to a fishing line and the line is often attached to a fishing rod. Fishing rods are usually fitted with a fishing reel that functions as a mechanism for storing, retrieving and paying out the line. The hook itself...
, taken by baits from beaches and pier
Pier
A pier is a raised structure, including bridge and building supports and walkways, over water, typically supported by widely spread piles or pillars...
s, and is considered a modest table fish.
Taxonomy and naming
The bumpnose trevally is classified within the genus CarangoidesCarangoides
Carangoides is a genus of tropical to subtropical marine fishes in the jack family, Carangidae. They are small to large sized, deep bodied fish characterised by a certain gill raker and jaw morphology, often appearing very similar to jacks in the genus Caranx...
, a group of fish commonly called jacks and trevallies. Carangoides falls into the jack and horse mackerel family Carangidae
Carangidae
Carangidae is a family of fish which includes the jacks, pompanos, jack mackerels, and scads.They are marine fish found in the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans...
, itself part the order Perciformes
Perciformes
The Perciformes, also called the Percomorphi or Acanthopteri, is one of the largest orders of vertebrates, containing about 40% of all bony fish. Perciformes means perch-like. They belong to the class of ray-finned fish and comprise over 7,000 species found in almost all aquatic environments...
, in the suborder Percoidei
Percoidei
Percoidei is one of eighteen suborders of bony fish in the order Perciformes. Many commercially harvested fish species are contained in this suborder, including the snappers, jacks, whitings, groupers, bass, perches and porgies.-Divisions:...
.
The species, as it is currently accepted, was first described and classified by the Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n ichthyologist Gilbert Percy Whitley
Gilbert Percy Whitley
Gilbert Percy Whitley was a British-born Australian ichthyologist and malacologist who was Curator of Fishes at the Australian Museum in Sydney for about 40 years. He was born at Swaythling, Southampton, England, and was educated at King Edward VI School, Southampton and Osborne House...
in 1933 based upon a sample taken from Port Hedland in Western Australia
Western Australia
Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...
, which was designated to be the holotype
Holotype
A holotype is a single physical example of an organism, known to have been used when the species was formally described. It is either the single such physical example or one of several such, but explicitly designated as the holotype...
. Whitley named the species Olistus hedlandensis, placing the fish in what was at the time a valid genus of jacks. When Olistus was synonymised
Synonym (taxonomy)
In scientific nomenclature, a synonym is a scientific name that is or was used for a taxon of organisms that also goes by a different scientific name. For example, Linnaeus was the first to give a scientific name to the Norway spruce, which he called Pinus abies...
with Carangoides, the fish was placed either in Caranx
Caranx
Caranx is a genus of tropical to subtropical marine fish in the jack family Carangidae, commonly known as jacks, trevallies and kingfishes. They are moderate to large sized, deep bodied fishes which are distinguished from other carangid genera by specific gill raker, fin ray and dentition...
or Carangoides, and is currently accepted as belonging in the latter. The specific epithet
Epithet
An epithet or byname is a descriptive term accompanying or occurring in place of a name and having entered common usage. It has various shades of meaning when applied to seemingly real or fictitious people, divinities, objects, and binomial nomenclature. It is also a descriptive title...
refers to the type location of the species, Port Hedland. This was not the first time the fish had been described though, with Georges Cuvier
Georges Cuvier
Georges Chrétien Léopold Dagobert Cuvier or Jean Léopold Nicolas Frédéric Cuvier , known as Georges Cuvier, was a French naturalist and zoologist...
applying the name Olistus malabaricus to the species in 1833, which would give it priority over Whitley's name. However, when Olistus was merged into Carangoides, a taxonomic homonym
Homonym
In linguistics, a homonym is, in the strict sense, one of a group of words that often but not necessarily share the same spelling and the same pronunciation but have different meanings...
was created with Carangoides malabaricus and thus Whitley's name has been accepted to overcome this problem. The bumpnose trevally is very similar to Carangoides armatus, and appears to have been misidentified as such many times, with 1980 review of the two species finding many misidentified fish in museum
Museum
A museum is an institution that cares for a collection of artifacts and other objects of scientific, artistic, cultural, or historical importance and makes them available for public viewing through exhibits that may be permanent or temporary. Most large museums are located in major cities...
collections.
Description
The bumpnose trevally is one of the smaller members of the genus Carangoides, growing to a known maximum of 32 cm in length. It is quite similar in appearance to a number of co-occurring trevallies, especially Carangoides armatus and Atropus atropos, with the simplest identifying feature being the distinct break in the contour ('bump') of the interorbital regionInterorbital region
The interorbital region of the skull is located between the eyes, anterior to the braincase. The form of the interorbital region may exhibit significant variation between taxonomic groups....
, which becomes more pronounced with increasing size. The body is compressed and deep, with the head profile very steep in adults, leading to a more convex dorsal profile in comparison to the ventral profile. The dorsal fin
Dorsal fin
A dorsal fin is a fin located on the backs of various unrelated marine and freshwater vertebrates, including most fishes, marine mammals , and the ichthyosaurs...
is in two sections, the first consisting of 8 spines while the second has 1 spine and between 20 and 22 soft rays. The anal fin has two anteriorly detached spines followed by 1 spine and 16 to 18 soft rays, while the pelvic fin has 1 spine and 18 soft rays. The lobes of the second dorsal and anal fins are elongate and filamentous, being longer than the head. In males, a number of the central soft rays are also produced into filaments of varying lengths. The lateral line
Lateral line
The lateral line is a sense organ in aquatic organisms , used to detect movement and vibration in the surrounding water. Lateral lines are usually visible as faint lines running lengthwise down each side, from the vicinity of the gill covers to the base of the tail...
has a moderate anterior arch, which contains 63 to 70 scale
Scale (zoology)
In most biological nomenclature, a scale is a small rigid plate that grows out of an animal's skin to provide protection. In lepidopteran species, scales are plates on the surface of the insect wing, and provide coloration...
s, while the straight section has 8 to 14 scales and 21 to 27 scute
Scute
A scute or scutum is a bony external plate or scale, as on the shell of a turtle, the skin of crocodilians, the feet of some birds or the anterior portion of the mesonotum in insects.-Properties:...
s. The curved and straight sections intersect below the tenth to twelfth soft rays of the second dorsal fin. The breast is devoid of scales, with the scaleless area extending to the origin of the pelvic fins and up to the base of the pectoral fins. Both jaws have bands of villiform teeth, which are widest anteriorly. There are a total of 20 to 27 gill raker
Gill raker
Gill rakers in fish are bony or cartilaginous processes that project from the branchial arch and are involved with filter feeding tiny prey. They are not to be confused with the gill filaments that compose the bony part of the gill. Rakers are usually present in two rows, projecting from both the...
s and 24 vertebrae.
The body of the bumpnose trevally is a silvery green-blue above, becoming more silvery white below, with a dark blotch present on the operculum
Operculum (fish)
The operculum of a bony fish is the hard bony flap covering and protecting the gills. In most fish, the rear edge of the operculum roughly marks the division between the head and the body....
. The spinous dorsal fin and the soft dorsal fin rays are black, while the anal fin is brownish, with the filaments and lobe often blackish. The caudal fin has black trailing and leading edges, and the pelvic fin is dusky to black. Juveniles often have 5 to 7 vertical crossbars on their sides.
Distribution and habitat
The bumpnose trevally is widely distributed in the tropical and subtropical regions of the IndianIndian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering approximately 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by the Indian Subcontinent and Arabian Peninsula ; on the west by eastern Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and...
and west Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
s. In the Indian Ocean, the species ranges from South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
, Madagascar
Madagascar
The Republic of Madagascar is an island country located in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of Africa...
and the Seychelles
Seychelles
Seychelles , officially the Republic of Seychelles , is an island country spanning an archipelago of 115 islands in the Indian Ocean, some east of mainland Africa, northeast of the island of Madagascar....
north along east Africa to Mozambique
Mozambique
Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique , is a country in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west and Swaziland and South Africa to the southwest...
, but has no records further north until India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
and Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
. Its distribution extends into South East Asia, Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
, Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea , officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is a country in Oceania, occupying the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and numerous offshore islands...
and northern Australia
Northern Australia
The term northern Australia is generally known to include two State and Territories, being Queensland and the Northern Territory . The part of Western Australia north of latitude 26° south—a definition widely used in law and State government policy—is also usually included...
, with the species extending as far north as Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
and as far east as Samoa
Samoa
Samoa , officially the Independent State of Samoa, formerly known as Western Samoa is a country encompassing the western part of the Samoan Islands in the South Pacific Ocean. It became independent from New Zealand in 1962. The two main islands of Samoa are Upolu and one of the biggest islands in...
in the Pacific.
The bumpnose trevally is an inshore fish, rarely venturing to depths greater than 50 m. It inhabits sandy bay
Bay
A bay is an area of water mostly surrounded by land. Bays generally have calmer waters than the surrounding sea, due to the surrounding land blocking some waves and often reducing winds. Bays also exist as an inlet in a lake or pond. A large bay may be called a gulf, a sea, a sound, or a bight...
s and beach
Beach
A beach is a geological landform along the shoreline of an ocean, sea, lake or river. It usually consists of loose particles which are often composed of rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles or cobblestones...
es, and appears to be quite tolerant of turbid waters, often living in the dirty waters near river mouths. Despite this, it appears to have a fairly low tolerance to reduced salinities and is not found in estuaries themselves.
Biology and fishery
The bumpnose trevally is usually founds in small groups of two or more, swimming along beaches where they take prey which consists of shrimpShrimp
Shrimp are swimming, decapod crustaceans classified in the infraorder Caridea, found widely around the world in both fresh and salt water. Adult shrimp are filter feeding benthic animals living close to the bottom. They can live in schools and can swim rapidly backwards. Shrimp are an important...
s, small crab
Crab
True crabs are decapod crustaceans of the infraorder Brachyura, which typically have a very short projecting "tail" , or where the reduced abdomen is entirely hidden under the thorax...
s and fish. Studies on the North West Shelf
North West Shelf
The North West Shelf of Western Australia is an extensive oil and gas region off the North West Australia coast in the Pilbara region.It has a considerable number of oil and gas wells, pipelines, production areas and support facilities.- Location :...
of Australia have found the species often aggregates with other carangids, particularly Carangoides humerosus, Ulua aurochs and Selaroides leptolepis, and together these make up a large proportion of the resident fish fauna. Reproduction in the species is very poorly known, with young fish often showing up in South Africa during summer.
The bumpnose trevally is of minor importance to fisheries throughout its range, caught using hook and line, bottom trawls, beach seines and various fish traps. In some areas, such as Fiji
Fiji
Fiji , officially the Republic of Fiji , is an island nation in Melanesia in the South Pacific Ocean about northeast of New Zealand's North Island...
, it is of more importance, but there are no catch statistics available for the species. It is also of minor importance to anglers, often taken from beaches and pier
Pier
A pier is a raised structure, including bridge and building supports and walkways, over water, typically supported by widely spread piles or pillars...
s using baits, and is considered marginal table fare.