Family SPHYRAENIDAE

Sphyraenidae

© Copyright Ros Poole.

Sphyraena barracuda, holotype of Sphyraena akerstromi

© Copyright Whitley 1947

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Introduction

Barracudas occur in shallow marine tropical and subtropical environments throughout the world. Currently, the family Sphyraenidae is represented by one genus with 20 species worldwide (de Sylva 1984; de Sylva & Williams 1986). Eleven species are recorded from Australia, with one additional name listed as incertae sedis.

Sphyraenids are pelagic and are often found adjacent to coral reefs as well as in bays and estuaries. The family is distinguished by the presence of an elongate body and large mouth with prominent fang-like teeth. Some species are large and may reach a length of 1.6 m.

The family has not been revised on a worldwide basis, but several regional reviews have been written: Au (1979) for the northern South China Sea fauna and Lin & Shao (1987) for the waters of Taiwan. Senou (2001) treated some species known from Australia, but further study is needed for Australian species.

General References

Au, K.-C. 1979. Systematic study on the barracudas (Pisces: Sphyraenidae) from a northern sector of the South China Sea. Journal of Natural History 13: 619-647, 2 figs

Bray, D.J. & Hoese, D.F. 2006. Sphyraenidae and Gempylidae. pp. 1748-1760 in Hoese, D.F., Bray, D.J., Paxton, J.R. & Allen, G.R. Fishes. In, Beesley, P.L. & Wells, A. (eds) Zoological Catalogue of Australia. Vol. 35. Volume 35 Australia : ABRS & CSIRO Publishing Parts 1-3, 2178 pp. [1748]

de Sylva, D.P. 1984. Sphyraenidae: development and relationships. pp. 534-540 in Moser, H.G. et al. (eds). Ontogeny and Systematics of Fishes. American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists. Special Publication 1: 1-760

de Sylva, D.P. & Williams, F. 1986. Sphyraenidae. pp. 721-726 in Smith, M.M. & Heemstra, P.C. (eds). Smith's Sea Fishes. Johannesburg : Macmillan South Africa xx + 1047 pp. 144 pls.

Lin, L.-H. & Shao, K.-T. 1987. Fishes of the family Sphyraenidae of Taiwan. Journal of the Taiwan Museum 40(2): 73-89, 10 figs

Senou, H. 2001. Sphyraenidae. pp. 3685-3697 in Carpenter, K.E. & Niem, T.H. (eds). The Living Marine Resources of the Western Central Pacific. FAO Species Identification Guide for Fisheries Purposes. Rome : FAO Vol. 6 pp. 3381-4218.

Whitley, G.P. 1947. New sharks and fishes from Western Australia. Part 3. The Australian Zoologist 11(2): 129-150 figs 1-3 pl. 11 [pl. 11]

Common Name References

Allen, G.R. & Steene, R.C. 1988. Fishes of Christmas Island Indian Ocean. Christmas Island : Christmas Island Natural History Association 197 pp. [182] (Barracudas)

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