Sauries are fish of the family

Family (biology)

In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...

 Scomberesocidae. There are two genera

Genus

In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...

, each containing two species. The name Scomberesocidae is derived from the Greek

Greek language

Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...

, skombros = tuna

Tuna

Tuna is a salt water fish from the family Scombridae, mostly in the genus Thunnus. Tuna are fast swimmers, and some species are capable of speeds of . Unlike most fish, which have white flesh, the muscle tissue of tuna ranges from pink to dark red. The red coloration derives from myoglobin, an...

/mackerel

Mackerel

Mackerel is a common name applied to a number of different species of fish, mostly, but not exclusively, from the family Scombridae. They may be found in all tropical and temperate seas. Most live offshore in the oceanic environment but a few, like the Spanish mackerel , enter bays and can be...

, and esox = nursery of salmon

Salmon

Salmon is the common name for several species of fish in the family Salmonidae. Several other fish in the same family are called trout; the difference is often said to be that salmon migrate and trout are resident, but this distinction does not strictly hold true...

.

Sauries are marine epipelagic fish which live in tropical and temperate waters. These fish often jump while swimming near the surface, skimming the water, which is similar to flying fish, a fellow member of the beloniformes

Beloniformes

The Beloniformes are an order of five families of freshwater and marine ray-finned fish: the Adrianichthyidae ; Belonidae ; Exocoetidae ; Hemiramphidae ; and the Scomberesocidae...

 family. The jaws of sauries are beak-like, ranging from long, slender beaks to relatively short ones with the lower jaw only slightly elongated. The mouth openings of sauries, however, are small and the jaws have weak teeth. The most distinctive feature of sauries, however, is the presence of a row of small finlets behind the dorsal

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...

 and anal fins. They also lack swim bladders. Sauries grow to a maximum length of about 46 centimetres (18.1 in), but the group also includes the smallest of all epipelagic fish, Cololabus adacetus, with an adult length of just 7.5 centimetres (3 in).

They are harvested commercially as a food fish; Pacific saury

Pacific saury

The Pacific saury, Cololabis saira, is a member of the family Scomberesocidae. This saury, which is a food source in some East Asian cuisines, is also known by the name mackerel pike.- Name :...

 are consumed often in Japanese

Japanese cuisine

Japanese cuisine has developed over the centuries as a result of many political and social changes throughout Japan. The cuisine eventually changed with the advent of the Medieval age which ushered in a shedding of elitism with the age of shogun rule...

 and Korean cuisine. The fish is usually grilled.

Species

• Genus Cololabis
  Cololabis
  Cololabis is a genus of sauries. The name is derived from the Greek word kolos, meaning "short", and the Latin word labia, meaning "lips". There are two species....
  
  
  • Cololabis adocetus
  • Cololabis saira (Pacific saury
    Pacific saury
    The Pacific saury, Cololabis saira, is a member of the family Scomberesocidae. This saury, which is a food source in some East Asian cuisines, is also known by the name mackerel pike.- Name :...
    
    )
• Genus Scomberesox
  • Scomberesox simulans (Dwarf saury)
  • Scomberesox saurus (Atlantic saury
    Atlantic saury
    The Atlantic saury, Scomberesox saurus, is a fish of the family Scomberesocidae found in the Atlantic Ocean, in the seas near Australia, and also in the Mediterranean. The fish grow to about 35 cm in length, with a maximum of 50 cm, and have beaklike jaws and a row of finlets behind their dorsal...
    
    )

The Saury

USS Saury (SS-189)

USS Saury , a Sargo-class submarine, was the only ship of the United States Navy to be named for the saury, a long-beaked relative of the flying fish found in the temperate zones of the Atlantic....

, a Sargo

Sargo class submarine

The Sargo-class submarines were the first US submarines to be sent into action after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, starting war patrols the day after the attack...

-class submarine

Submarine

A submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation below the surface of the water. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability...

, was the only ship of the United States Navy

United States Navy

The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...

to be named for this fish.