Striped body and a very similar appearance to the closely-related oriental bonito Sarda orientalis. That species differs by possessing stripes (sometimes indistinct) on the lower half of the body, 18-22 gill rakers on the first gill arch (cf. 8-13 in S. australis), and a preference for more tropical waters, although the two species can occur in mixed schools on the east coast. The Australian bonito is occasionally caught by lure cast from rocks along the NSW coast. The meat is not highly regarded.

• Max Size: 180 cm
• Sea Temperature Range: 15.3-24.6°C
• Depth: 0-100m
• Habitat: Open ocean

• IUCN Threat Status: Least Concern
• Occurrence: Infrequent (5% of sites)
  Occurrence describes how often the species is found on surveys within its distribution. It is calculated as the % of reef sites surveyed by RLS divers across all the ecoregions in which the species has been observed
• Abundance: Many (16 per transect)
  Abundance is calculated as the average number of individuals recorded per RLS transect, where present.