Chordata · chordates

Atlantic bonito

Sarda sarda

Scombridae · tunas & mackerelsIUCN: Least Concern
Atlantic bonito
Photo: Sherman Foote Denton · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons · resized

A striped, toothy tuna relative that chases bait along Northeast beaches in late summer.

Fun factIts slanted back stripes tell it apart from the false albacore's wavy marks.

Waters
Northeast US, Northwest Atlantic, Northeast Atlantic, Tropical Atlantic & Caribbean, Mediterranean & Black Sea
Depth zone
Open-ocean surface waters, Coastal shallows & estuaries
Diet
Small fish & squid
Size
Up to 90 cm

Classification

Chordata › Actinopterygii › Scombriformes › Scombridae

  1. Kingdom Animalia animals
    • Many-celled organisms that eat other living things for energy (heterotrophs)
    • Cells have no cell walls
    • Most can move at some stage of life
  2. Clade Bilateria bilateral animals
    • Body has a left and right side that mirror each other (bilateral symmetry)
    • Head end with concentrated nerves; three tissue layers
    • Includes about 99% of all living animal species
  3. Clade Deuterostomia deuterostomes
    • In the embryo, the first opening becomes the anus and the mouth forms second
    • Includes echinoderms and chordates
  4. Phylum Chordata chordates
    • At some stage of life: a stiffening rod along the back (notochord)
    • A hollow nerve cord along the back (dorsal)
    • Slits in the throat (pharyngeal slits) and a tail past the anus
  5. Subphylum Vertebrata vertebrates
    • A skull (cranium) protecting a brain
    • Backbone or similar support around the nerve cord
    • Includes fishes, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals
  6. Infraphylum Gnathostomata jawed vertebrates
    • Jawed vertebrates: jaws formed from gill arches
    • Paired fins or limbs
    • Includes all fishes except hagfish and lampreys, plus all tetrapods
  7. Superclass Osteichthyes bony vertebrates
    • Bony vertebrates: skeleton made largely of bone
    • Most have a lung or swim bladder
    • Includes ray-finned and lobe-finned fishes and all tetrapods
  8. Class Actinopterygii ray-finned fishes
    • Ray-finned fishes: fins are webs of skin held up by thin bony rays
    • Usually a gas-filled swim bladder for buoyancy
    • About half of all vertebrate species
  9. Infraclass Teleostei teleost fishes
    • Teleosts: symmetrical tail fin
    • Jaws that can push forward to grab prey (protrusible)
    • About 96% of all living fishes
  10. Cohort Euteleostei salmon, cod, perch & kin
    • A huge group that includes salmon, cod, and all spiny-finned fishes
  11. Clade Acanthomorpha spiny-rayed fishes
    • Spiny-rayed fishes: true spines in the front of the fins
    • Includes most familiar marine fishes
  12. Superorder Acanthopterygii spiny-finned fishes
    • Spiny-finned fishes: sharp spines in the front of the dorsal and anal fins
    • Pelvic fins usually under the pectoral fins
  13. Clade Percomorpha perch-like fishes
    • The perch-like fishes: the largest group of vertebrates
    • Pelvic fins with one spine and five rays (in most)
  14. Order Scombriformes tunas, mackerels & kin
    • Tunas, mackerels, and relatives: streamlined fast swimmers
    • Small finlets behind the dorsal and anal fins (in many)
  15. Family Scombridae tunas & mackerels
    • Tunas and mackerels: deeply forked tail
    • Tunas keep their bodies warmer than the water
  16. Genus Sarda
    • Species in the same genus are very close relatives and often look alike.
  17. Species Sarda sarda Atlantic bonito

Closest relatives in the guide