| Bonito | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Atlantic bonito,Sarda sarda | |
Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Scombriformes |
| Family: | Scombridae |
| Subfamily: | Scombrinae |
| Tribe: | Sardini Jordan andEvermann, 1896 |
| Genera | |
| |
Bonitos are atribe of medium-sized,ray-finned,predatory fish in the familyScombridae, which it shares with themackerel,tuna, andSpanish mackerel tribes, and also thebutterfly kingfish.[1] Also called the tribeSardini, it consists of eightspecies across fourgenera; three of those four genera aremonotypic, having a single species each. Bonitos closely resemble theskipjack tuna, which is often called a bonito, especially in Japanese contexts.
The fish's name comes from the Portuguese and Spanishbonito (no evidence has been found for the origin of the name), identical to the adjective meaning "pretty", but the noun referring to the fish seems to come from the low and medieval Latin formboniton, a word with a strange structure and an obscure origin, related to the wordbyza, a possible borrowing from the Greek βῦζα, "owl".[2][3][4]
Pacific and Atlantic bonito meat has a firm texture and a darkish color, as well as a moderate fat content. The meat of young or small bonito can be of light color, close to that ofskipjack tuna, and is sometimes used as a cheap substitute for skipjack, especially for canning purposes, and occasionally in the production of cheap varieties ofkatsuobushi that are sold as "bonito flakes".[5] Bonito may not, however, be marketed astuna in all countries. TheAtlantic bonito is also found in theMediterranean and theBlack Seas, where it is a popular food fish, eaten grilled, pickled (lakerda), or baked.[6][7]