| Leatherjacket fish | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Carangiformes |
| Suborder: | Carangoidei |
| Family: | Carangidae |
| Genus: | Oligoplites |
| Species: | O. saurus |
| Binomial name | |
| Oligoplites saurus (Bloch &J. G. Schneider, 1801) | |
| Synonyms[2][3] | |
List
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Theleatherjacket fish (Oligoplites saurus), also known asleather jack, is a species of jack in the familyCarangidae.[4] Leather jack may also refer to other members of the Carangidae, such as thepilot fish. The largest are about a foot long.[5]
There are two subspecies ofOligoplites saurus. Thenominate subspeciesO.s. saurus is distributed in the western Atlantic Ocean fromChatham, Massachusetts south along the U.S. coast, throughout the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea, and along the South American coast toRio Grande do Sul, Brazil. The other subspeciesO. s. inornatus is found in the eastern Pacific Ocean from southernBaja California, much of theGulf of California to Ecuador, including theGalapagos andMalpelo Islands.[1]
It voraciously devours small fish andshrimp, often in company with larger predatory species. Leatherjackets feed on small fish including the silver perch.
Traditionally, the leather jacket has not been eaten, but recently, with large-scale farming of the fish, it has become common at market[where?]. The fish has a mild, oily taste similar toSpanish mackerel or bluefish.
It has occasionally been the prey toblue swimmer crab, as juvenile fish in sea grass beds.
