Thunnus obesus

IUCN Red List: VU Vulnerable

Threats:

Meat is highly prized and processed into sashimi in Japan. Marketed mainly canned or frozen^[1], but also sold fresh^[2].

Taxonomy

Ambiguous Synonyms:

1. Thunnus atlanticus (Lesson, 1831)

Unambiguous Synonyms:

1. Germo obesus (Lowe, 1839)
2. Germo sibi (Temminck & Schlegel, 1844)
3. Neothunnus obesus (Lowe, 1839)
4. Orcynus sibi (Temminck & Schlegel, 1844)
5. Parathunnus mebachi (Kishinouye, 1915)
6. Parathunnus obesus (Lowe, 1839)
7. Parathunnus obesus subsp. mebachi (Kishinouye, 1915)
8. Parathunnus sibi (Temminck & Schlegel, 1844)
9. Thunnus abesus (Lowe, 1839)
10. Thunnus mebachi Kishinouye, 1915
11. Thunnus obesus subsp. mebachi Kishinouye, 1915
12. Thunnus obesus subsp. sibi (Temminck & Schlegel, 1844)
13. Thunnus sibi (Temminck & Schlegel, 1844)
14. Thunus obesus (Lowe, 1839)
15. Thynnus obesus Lowe, 1839
16. Thynnus sibi Temminck & Schlegel, 1844

Notes:

Name Status: Accepted Name. Latest taxonomic scrutiny: Group expert : Collette B.B., Data last modified by FishBase 01-Dec-1998

Physical Description

Family Scombridae:

Distribution: tropical and subtropical seas. Body elongate and fusiform, moderately compressed in some genera. Snout pointed, premaxilla beaklike, free from nasal bones which are separated by the ethmoid bone; mouth large; teeth in jaws strong, moderate, or weak; no true canines; palate and tongue may bear teeth. The 2 dorsal fins separate and depressible into grooves with 5-12 finlets behind second dorsal and anal fins; first dorsal fin with 9-27 rays, origin well behind the head. Pectoral fins high on body. Pelvic fins moderate or small with 6 fin rays, placed below the pectoral fins. Caudal fin deeply forked with supporting caudal rays completely covering hypural plate. At least 2 small keels on each side of caudal fin base, a larger keel in between on caudal peduncle in more advanced species. Lateral line simple. Vertebrae 31-66. Body covered with small to moderate scales or a scaly corselet developed (area behind head and around pectoral fins covered with large thick scales) and rest of body naked or covered with tiny scales. Gill membranes not united to isthmus. Thunnus and close relatives with a specialized vascular system for heat exchange; the evolution of this and related adaptations for endothermy are discussed in Brock et al. 1993, Science 260:210-214. Primarily swift, epipelagic predators; some species occur in coastal waters, others far from shore. Mackerels (Scomber and Rastrelliger) filter plankton with their long gill rakers. Spanish mackerels, bonitos and tunas feed on larger prey, including small fishes, crustaceans and squids. The main predators of smaller scombrids are other predacious fishes, particularly large tunas and billfises. Dioecious and most display little or no sexual dimorphism in structure or color pattern. Females of many species attain larger sizes than maels. Batch spawning of most species takes place in tropical and subtropical waters, frequently inshore. Eggs are pelagic and hatch into planktonic larvae. Among the most important of commercial and sport fishes. Thunninae=ISSCAAP 36; Scombrinae=ISSCAAP 37. Also Ref. 50681.

The family Scombridae belongs to the Class Actinopterygii (ray-finned fishes) and the Order Perciformes. It contains 15 genera and 51 species. It may be found in Marine and Brackish environments and is primarily Marine. Members of this family are not used in the aquarium trade. Reproductively, most members of this family are nonguarders. The main mode of swimming of adult fish in this family is thunniform. Compared with other fish, the activity level of this family tends to be very active. Members of this family have been dated back to the lower Eocene epoch of the Tertiary period. Etymology of this family name: Latin, scomber = mackerel. 1841

Images:

Distribution

Aquatic Regions

Atlantic, Indian and Pacific: in tropical and subtropical waters. Absent in the Mediterranean. Highly migratory species, Annex I of the 1982 Convention on the Law of the Sea^[3].

Range and Population

Atlantic, Indian and Pacific: in tropical and subtropical waters. Absent in the Mediterranean. Highly migratory species, Annex I of the 1982 Convention on the Law of the Sea^[4].

Habitat

Occur in areas where water temperatures range from 13°-29°C, but the optimum is between 17° and 22°C. Variation in occurrence is closely related to seasonal and climatic changes in surface temperature and thermocline. Juveniles and small adults school at the surface in mono-species groups or mixed with other tunas, may be associated with floating objects. Adults stay in deeper waters^[5].

Biome

Saltwater. Pelagic.

Diet

Feed on a wide variety of fishes, cephalopods and crustaceans during the day and at night^[6].

Reproduction

Eggs and larvae are pelagic^[7].

Similar Species

Members of the genus Thunnus:

There are approximately 31 species and subspecies in this genus: T. alalunga · T. alalunga · T. albacares · T. alalunga (Albacore) · T. alb · T. albacares ('fin) · T. albacares macropterus · T. albacaris · T. albalonga · T. albecares · T. atlanticus (Albacore) · T. bacares · T. brachypterus · T. atlanticus · T. maccoyi · T. maccoyii (Bluefin) · T. obesus (Big Eye) · T. obesus mebachi · T. obesus sibi · T. orientalis (Bluefin Tuna) · T. pelaemus · T. tanggul · T. thunnina · T. T. · T. thynnus (Atlantic Bluefin Tuna) · T. thynnus coretta · T. thynnus maccoyii · T. thynnus orientalis · T. thynnus saliens · T. thynnus thynnus · T. tonggol (Blue Fin Tuna)

Bibliography

• Bearez, P. (1996). Lista de los peces marinos del Ecuador continental. Rev. Biol. Trop. 44(2):731-741.
• Bianchi, G. (1986). Fichas FAO de identifacao de espécies para propósitos comerciais. Guia de campo para as espécies comerciais marinhas e de águas salobras de Angola. Preparado com o apoio da NORAD e da FAO (FIRM) Programa Regular, FAO, Rome. 184 p.
• Bouhlel, M. (1988). Poissons de Djibouti. Placerville (California, USA): RDA International, Inc. 416 p.
• Cervigón, F. (1994). Los peces marinos de Venezuela. Volume 3. Fundación Científica Los Roques, Caracas,Venezuela. 295 p.
• Claro, R. (1994). Características generales de la ictiofauna. p. 55-70. In R. Claro (ed.) Ecología de los peces marinos de Cuba. Instituto de Oceanología Academia de Ciencias de Cuba and Centro de Investigaciones de Quintana Roo.
• Claro, Rodolfo, and Lynne R. Parenti / Claro, Rodolfo, Kenyon C. Lindeman, and L. R. Parenti, eds. 2001. Chapter 2: The Marine Ichthyofauna of Cuba. Ecology of the Marine Fishes of Cuba. Smithsonian Institution Press. Washington, DC, USA. 21-57. ISBN: 1-56098-985-8.
• Collette, B.B. and C.E. Nauen (1983). FAO species catalogue. Vol. 2. Scombrids of the world. An annotated and illustrated catalogue of tunas, mackerels, bonitos and related species known to date. FAO Fish. Synop. 2(125). 137 p.
• Collette, Bruce B., Carol Reeb, and Barbara A. Block / Barbara A. Block and E. Donald Stevens, eds. 2001. Systematics of the Tunas and Mackerels (Scombridae). Fish Physiology, vol. 19: Tuna: Physiology, Ecology, and Evolution. Academic Press. San Diego, California, USA. 1-33. ISBN: 0-12-350443-0.
• Cornic, A. (1987). Poissons de l'Ile Maurice. Editions de l'Océan Indien, Stanley Rose Hill, Ile Maurice. 335 p.
• Duong, T.T. (2001). Mot so loai ca thuong gap o bien Viet Nam (Viet Nam's Common Marine Fishes Catalogue). Ministry of Fisheries of Viet Nam - Fisheries Information Center of Viet Nam.
• Hunnam, P. A. Jenkins, N. Kile and P. Shearman (2001). Bismarck-Solomon Seas Ecoregion: Papua New Guinea Solomon Islands. 86p. In Mangubhai, S., B. Masianini, D. Gorman and A. Jenkins (eds). Marine Resource Management and Conservation Planning.
• Japan International Cooperation Agency (1987). The fisheries resources survey in Fiji and Tuvalu. Figures and tables. Japan International Cooperation Agency, April 1987.
• Kailola, P.J., M.J. Williams, P.C. Stewart, R.E. Reichelt, A. McNee and C. Grieve (1993). Australian fisheries resources. Bureau of Resource Sciences, Canberra, Australia. 422 p.
• Kapoor, D., R. Dayal and A.G. Ponniah (2002). Fish biodiversity of India. National Bureau of Fish Genetic Resources Lucknow, India.775 p.
• Maigret, J. and B. Ly (1986). Les poissons de mer de Mauritanie. Science Nat., Compiègne. 213 p.
• Masuda, H., K. Amaoka, C. Araga, T. Uyeno and T. Yoshino (1984). The fishes of the Japanese Archipelago. Vol. 1 (text). Tokai University Press, Tokyo, Japan. 437 p. (text), 370 pls.
• Myers, R.F. (1999). Micronesian reef fishes: a comprehensive guide to the coral reef fishes of Micronesia, 3rd revised and expanded edition. Coral Graphics, Barrigada, Guam. 330 p.
• Paulin, C., A. Stewart, C. Roberts and P. McMillan (1989). New Zealand fish: a complete guide. National Museum of New Zealand Miscellaneous Series No. 19. 279 p.
• Randall, J.E. (1995). Coastal fishes of Oman. University of Hawaii Press, Honolulu, Hawaii. 439 p.
• Randall, J.E. and C. Anderson (1993). Annotated checklist of the epipelagic and shore fishes of the Maldives Islands. Ichthyol. Bull. of the J.L.B. Smith Inst. of Ichthyol. 59:47.
• Randall, J.E., H. Ida, K. Kato, R.L. Pyle and J.L. Earle (1997). Annotated checklist of inshore fishes of the Ogasawara Islands. Nat. Sci. Mus. Monogr. (11):1-74.
• Robins, Richard C., Reeve M. Bailey, Carl E. Bond, James R. Brooker, Ernest A. Lachner, et al. 1980. A List of Common and Scientific Names of Fishes from the United States and Canada, Fourth Edition. American Fisheries Society Special Publication, no. 12. American Fisheries Society. Bethesda, Maryland, USA. 174.
• Sánchez, A.C. (1997). Listado taxonomico de las especies marinas identificadas en los océanos Pacífico y Atlántico (Caribe) de Nicaragua. Ministerio de Economía y Desarrollo. MEDE PESCA. Managua. 28 pgs.
• To be filled (1997). Lista de especies comerciales marinas y continentales en Colombia. p. 200-205. In Chaves S., M.E. and N. V. Arango (eds.) Causas de pérdida de biodiversidad. Tomo II. Instituto de Investigación de Recursos Biológicos, Santaféde
• Wass, R. C. (1984). An annotated checklist of the fishes of Samoa. Natl. Ocean. Atmos. Adminis. Tech. Rept., Natl. Mar. Fish. Serv., Spec. Sci. Rept. Fish. (781).

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Notes

Contributors:

• Bisby, F.A., Y.R. Roskov, M.A. Ruggiero, T.M. Orrell, L.E. Paglinawan, P.W. Brewer, N. Bailly, J. van Hertum, eds (2007). Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of Life: 2007 Annual Checklist. Species 2000: Reading, U.K.
• Brands, S.J. (comp.) 1989-2006. Systema Naturae 2000. The Taxonomicon. Universal Taxonomic Services, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Accessed October 4, 2006.
• Collette, Bruce B. (from FishBase).
• FishBase 2006.
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility. Accessed February 29, 2008. http://www.gbif.org Mediated distribution data from 7 providers.
• Uozumi, Y. 1996. Thunnus obesus. In: IUCN 2006. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. www.iucnredlist.org . Downloaded on 20 October 2006.

Data Sources:

Accessed through GBIF Data Portal February 29, 2008:

• FishBase: FishBase DiGIR Provider - Philippine Server
• GBIF-Sweden: Fishes (NRM)
• Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences, Rutgers University: Bureau of Rural Sciences National commercial fisheries half-degree data set 2000-2002 (OBIS Australia)
• Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences, Rutgers University: CSIRO Marine Data Warehouse (OBIS Australia)
• Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences, Rutgers University: iziko South African Museum - Fish Collection
• Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences, Rutgers University: Marine and Coastal Management - Linefish Dataset (First Semester of 1985)
• Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences, Rutgers University: Marine and Coastal Management - Linefish Dataset (First Semester of 1986)
• Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences, Rutgers University: Marine and Coastal Management - Linefish Dataset (First Semester of 1987)
• Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences, Rutgers University: Marine and Coastal Management - Linefish Dataset (First Semester of 1988)
• Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences, Rutgers University: Marine and Coastal Management - Linefish Dataset (First Semester of 1989)
• Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences, Rutgers University: Marine and Coastal Management - Linefish Dataset (First Semester of 1990) (AfrOBIS)
• Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences, Rutgers University: Marine and Coastal Management - Linefish Dataset (First Semester of 1991) (AfrOBIS)
• Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences, Rutgers University: Marine and Coastal Management - Linefish Dataset (First Semester of 1992) (AfrOBIS)
• Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences, Rutgers University: Marine and Coastal Management - Linefish Dataset (First Semester of 1993) (AfrOBIS)
• Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences, Rutgers University: Marine and Coastal Management - Linefish Dataset (First Semester of 1994) (AfrOBIS)
• Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences, Rutgers University: Marine and Coastal Management - Linefish Dataset (First Semester of 1995) (AfrOBIS)
• Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences, Rutgers University: Marine and Coastal Management - Linefish Dataset (First Semester of 1996) (AfrOBIS)
• Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences, Rutgers University: Marine and Coastal Management - Linefish Dataset (First Semester of 1997) (AfrOBIS)
• Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences, Rutgers University: Marine and Coastal Management - Linefish Dataset (First Semester of 1998) (AfrOBIS)
• Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences, Rutgers University: Marine and Coastal Management - Linefish Dataset (First Semester of 1999) (AfrOBIS)
• Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences, Rutgers University: Marine and Coastal Management - Linefish Dataset (First Semester of 2000) (AfrOBIS)
• Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences, Rutgers University: Marine and Coastal Management - Linefish Dataset (First Semester of 2001) (AfrOBIS)
• Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences, Rutgers University: Marine and Coastal Management - Linefish Dataset (First Semester of 2002) (AfrOBIS)
• Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences, Rutgers University: Marine and Coastal Management - Linefish Dataset (First Semester of 2003) (AfrOBIS)
• Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences, Rutgers University: Marine and Coastal Management - Linefish Dataset (First Semester of 2004) (AfrOBIS)
• Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences, Rutgers University: Marine and Coastal Management - Linefish Dataset (First Semester of 2005) (AfrOBIS)
• Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences, Rutgers University: Marine and Coastal Management - Linefish Dataset (Second Semester of 1985)
• Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences, Rutgers University: Marine and Coastal Management - Linefish Dataset (Second Semester of 1986)
• Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences, Rutgers University: Marine and Coastal Management - Linefish Dataset (Second Semester of 1987)
• Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences, Rutgers University: Marine and Coastal Management - Linefish Dataset (Second Semester of 1988)
• Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences, Rutgers University: Marine and Coastal Management - Linefish Dataset (Second Semester of 1989)
• Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences, Rutgers University: Marine and Coastal Management - Linefish Dataset (Second Semester of 1990) (AfrOBIS)
• Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences, Rutgers University: Marine and Coastal Management - Linefish Dataset (Second Semester of 1991) (AfrOBIS)
• Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences, Rutgers University: Marine and Coastal Management - Linefish Dataset (Second Semester of 1992) (AfrOBIS)
• Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences, Rutgers University: Marine and Coastal Management - Linefish Dataset (Second Semester of 1993) (AfrOBIS)
• Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences, Rutgers University: Marine and Coastal Management - Linefish Dataset (Second Semester of 1994) (AfrOBIS)
• Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences, Rutgers University: Marine and Coastal Management - Linefish Dataset (Second Semester of 1995) (AfrOBIS)
• Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences, Rutgers University: Marine and Coastal Management - Linefish Dataset (Second Semester of 1996) (AfrOBIS)
• Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences, Rutgers University: Marine and Coastal Management - Linefish Dataset (Second Semester of 1997) (AfrOBIS)
• Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences, Rutgers University: Marine and Coastal Management - Linefish Dataset (Second Semester of 1998) (AfrOBIS)
• Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences, Rutgers University: Marine and Coastal Management - Linefish Dataset (Second Semester of 1999) (AfrOBIS)
• Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences, Rutgers University: Marine and Coastal Management - Linefish Dataset (Second Semester of 2000) (AfrOBIS)
• Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences, Rutgers University: Marine and Coastal Management - Linefish Dataset (Second Semester of 2001) (AfrOBIS)
• Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences, Rutgers University: Marine and Coastal Management - Linefish Dataset (Second Semester of 2002) (AfrOBIS)
• Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences, Rutgers University: Marine and Coastal Management - Linefish Dataset (Second Semester of 2003) (AfrOBIS)
• Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences, Rutgers University: Marine and Coastal Management - Linefish Dataset (Second Semester of 2004) (AfrOBIS)
• Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences, Rutgers University: Marine and Coastal Management - Linefish Dataset (Second Semester of 2005) (AfrOBIS)
• Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences, Rutgers University: SeamountsOnline (seamount biota)
• Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History: Vertebrate specimens
• Museum national d'histoire naturelle: Ichtyologie
• National Chemical Laboratory: IndOBIS, Indian Ocean Node of OBIS
• OZCAM (Online Zoological Collections of Australian Museums) Provider: Online Zoological Collections of Australian Museums
• Royal Ontario Museum: Fish specimens

Identifiers:

• Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) Taxonomic Serial Number (TSN): 172428
• Fishbase Species ID: 146
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility Taxonkey: 87145
• Zipcode Zoo Species Identifier: 12189

Footnotes:

1. Collette, B.B. (2001). Scombridae. Tunas (also, albacore, bonitos, mackerels, seerfishes, and wahoo). p. 3721-3756. In K.E. Carpenter and V. Niem (eds.) FAO species identification guide for fishery purposes. The living marine resources of the Western
2. Collette, B.B. (1995). Scombridae. Atunes, bacoretas, bonitos, caballas, estorninos, melva, etc. p. 1521-1543. In W. Fischer, F. Krupp, W. Schneider, C. Sommer, K.E. Carpenter and V. Niem (eds.) Guia FAO para Identification de Especies para lo Fines d
3. FAO Fisheries Department (1994). World review of highly migratory species and straddling stocks. FAO Fish. Tech. Pap. No. 337. Rome, FAO. 70 p.
4. FAO Fisheries Department (1994). World review of highly migratory species and straddling stocks. FAO Fish. Tech. Pap. No. 337. Rome, FAO. 70 p.
5. Maigret, J. and B. Ly (1986). Les poissons de mer de Mauritanie. Science Nat., Compiègne. 213 p.
6. Collette, B.B. (1995). Scombridae. Atunes, bacoretas, bonitos, caballas, estorninos, melva, etc. p. 1521-1543. In W. Fischer, F. Krupp, W. Schneider, C. Sommer, K.E. Carpenter and V. Niem (eds.) Guia FAO para Identification de Especies para lo Fines d
7. Kailola, P.J., M.J. Williams, P.C. Stewart, R.E. Reichelt, A. McNee and C. Grieve (1993). Australian fisheries resources. Bureau of Resource Sciences, Canberra, Australia. 422 p.