TheCarangidae are afamily ofray-finned fish that includes the jacks,pompanos,jack mackerels, runners, trevallies, and scads. It is the largest of the six families included within theorderCarangiformes. Some authorities classify it as the only family within that order but molecular and anatomical studies indicate that there is a close relationship between this family and the five former Perciform families which make up the Carangiformes.[1]
They are found in theAtlantic,Indian andPacific Oceans. Most species are fast-swimming predatory fishes that hunt in the waters abovereefs and in the open sea; some dig in the sea floor for invertebrates.[2]
The largest fish in the family, thegreater amberjack,Seriola dumerili, grows up to 2 m in length; most fish in the family reach a maximum length of 25–100 cm.
The family contains many important commercial and game fish, notably thePacific jack mackerel,Trachurus symmetricus, and the other jack mackerels in the genusTrachurus.[2]
Many genera have fairly extensive fossil records, particularlyCaranx andSeriola, which extend into the earlyPaleogene (lateThanetian), and are known from whole and incomplete specimens, skeletal fragments, andotoliths. The severalextinct genera includeArchaeus,Pseudovomer, andEastmanalepes.
