Brazilian mackerel [1] ( lat. Scomberomorus brasiliensis ) is a species of mackerel fish. They live in tropical, subtropical and temperate waters of the Atlantic Ocean between 21 ° N. and 36 ° S w. and between 90 ° C. d. and 39 ° C. Epipelagic fish are found at a depth of up to 130 m. The maximum body length to the fork of the caudal fin is 125 cm. Valuable commercial fish [2] [3] .
| Brazilian mackerel |
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| No rank : | Bilateral symmetrical |
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Scomberomorus brasiliensis Collette, Russo & Zavala-Camin, 1978 |
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Least ConcernedIUCN 3.1 Least Concern : 170335 |
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Brazilian mackerel lives in the western Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Central and South America from Belize to Brazil . These epipelagic non-heretical fish are found in coastal waters to a depth of 130 m, and are most common in the depth range of 20-60 m. Seasonal migrations occur [3] .
Brazilian mackerel has an elongated fusiform body, a thin caudal stem with a simple keel. Knife-shaped teeth. The head is short. Snout length shorter than remaining head length. There are opener and palatine teeth. The maxillary bone is not hidden under the preorbital. 2 dorsal fins separated by a small gap. The lateral line is not wavy, with one bend. The ventral fins are small. The abdominal inter fin fin is small and bifurcated. No teeth on tongue. The number of branchial stamens in the first branchial arch is 11–16 (average 13–15). Vertebrae 47-49. In the first dorsal fin 17-18 spiny rays, in the second dorsal fin 15-19 and in the anal fin 16-20 soft rays, the anal spine is stiff. Behind the second dorsal and anal fins lies a series (8–10 and 7–10, respectively) of smaller fins, helping to avoid the formation of whirlpools during rapid movement. The pectoral fins are formed by 21-24 rays. The ventral fins are rather short; their length is 3.6–5.9% of the body length to the fork of the caudal fin. The back is blue steel. The sides during life are silver, covered with rows of yellowish-bronze spots. The number of spots is directly related to the size of the fish: in individuals 20 cm long (length to the fork of the caudal fin) there are about 30, and when the length reaches 50-60 cm the number of spots reaches 45-60. Anterior half (first 7 spines) and upper margin to end of first black dorsal fin. The rest is white. The pectoral fins are dark. The ventral and anal fins are light. The maximum recorded length to the fork of the tail is 125 cm [4] .
Pelagic schooling flocks, kept mainly in coastal waters.
The sides of the Brazilian mackerel are covered with yellowish spots.
Propagated all year round. In the Gulf of Paria , spawning peak occurs in October-April. Then the mackerel leaves from the waters of Venezuela towards Trinidad for feeding, where their accumulation is observed from May to September. On the shelf of Guyana, mature individuals were recorded in September. Off the northeast coast of Brazil, spawning occurs year-round in coastal waters; the peak is observed in July-September. Fish reach puberty at the age of 3-4 years with a length of 46 cm [4] . Off the northeast coast of Brazil, the ratio of males to females is 4: 1. Life expectancy is estimated at 13 years [3] .
Mackerel feeds mainly on small fish, as well as shrimp and squid. In Brazilian waters, the basis of the diet (> 25%) of individuals 17.5–87.5 cm long is Opisthonema oglinum . The next most important food source is anchovies and caranxes [4] .
Valuable commercial fish. The maximum mass of captured fish is 6.71 kg. Fishing is carried out by purse seines and gill nets . Brazilian mackerel comes to the market mainly fresh, as well as in ice cream, smoked, canned and salted. The International Union for Conservation of Nature has assigned the conservation status of “Least Concern” [3] .
- ↑ Reshetnikov Yu.S. , Kotlyar A.N. , Russ T.S. , Shatunovsky M.I. The Bilingual Dictionary of Animal Names. Fish. Latin, Russian, English, German, French. / edited by Acad. V. E. Sokolova . - M .: Rus. Yaz., 1989 .-- S. 364. - 12,500 copies. - ISBN 5-200-00237-0 .
- ↑ Scomberomorus brasiliensis (English) in the FishBase database.
- ↑ 1 2 3 4 Scomberomorus brasiliensis (English) . The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species .
- ↑ 1 2 3 Bruce B. Collette, Cornelia E. Nauen. Scombrids of the world. An annotated and illustrated catalog of tunas, mackerels, bonitos and related species known to date. - FAO species catalog. - Rome, 1983. - Vol. 2. - P. 60–61.
