| Bullet tuna | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Scombriformes |
| Family: | Scombridae |
| Genus: | Auxis |
| Species: | A. rochei |
| Binomial name | |
| Auxis rochei (Risso, 1810) | |
| Synonyms[2] | |
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Thebullet tuna (Auxis rochei) is aspecies oftuna, in thefamilyScombridae, found circumglobally in tropical oceans, including the Mediterranean Sea,[2] in opensurface waters to depths of 50 m (164 ft). The population of bullet tuna in the Eastern Pacific was classified as asubspecies ofA. rochei,A. rochei eudorax, but some authorities regard this as a valid speciesAuxis eudorax.[3] Its maximum length is 50 centimetres (20 in).
Sometimes calledbullet mackerel, the bullet tuna is a comparatively small and slender tuna. It has a triangular firstdorsal fin, widely separated from the second dorsal fin, which, like theanal andpectoral fins, is relatively small. There are the usualfinlets of the tuna. There is a small corselet of smallscales around the pectoral region of the body.
Bullet tunas are blue-black on the back with a pattern of zig-zag dark markings on the upper hind body, and silver below. The fins are dark grey.
They feed on small fish,squid,planktoniccrustaceans, andstomatopodlarvae.
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