Sphyraena barracuda

Great Barracuda
Sphyraena barracuda
Sphyraena barracuda, Turks & Caicos, Photo: Rick Stuart-Smith
Sphyraena barracuda
Sphyraena barracuda, Bali, Indonesia, Photo: Ian Shaw
Sphyraena barracuda
Sphyraena barracuda, juvenile, Belize, Photo: Rick Stuart-Smith
Sphyraena barracuda
Sphyraena barracuda, Belize, Photo: Rick Stuart-Smith
Sphyraena barracuda
Sphyraena barracuda, Belize, Photo: Rick Stuart-Smith
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Sphyraena barracuda
Sphyraena barracuda
Sphyraena barracuda
Sphyraena barracuda
Sphyraena barracuda

Distribution

Temperate Africa, Temperate Australasia, Temperate South America, Temperate northern Atlantic, Temperate northern Pacific, Tropical Atlantic/Caribbean, Tropical Indo-Pacific


Description

White tips on distinctly scalloped tail, with groove in the middle of the rear margin. Darker bars on the side of the body do not cross below the lateral line, but separate black blotches sometimes exist along the underside. Similar large barracudas S. punamae and S. jello and S. qenie have longer chevron markings crossing the lateral line, and the former two also lack the scalloped tail shape.


Information

Max Size: 200 cm

Sea Temperature Range: 18.8-31.2°C

Depth: 1-100 m

Habitat Generalization Index: 5.66

Also referred to as the SGI (Species Generalisation Index), this describes the habitat niche breadth of the species. Species with values less than 15 are found in a relatively narrow range of reef habitat types (specialists), while those over 25 may be found on most hard substrates within their range (generalists). Learn more here.


Conservation and Rarity

IUCN Status: Not Evaluated

Occurrence: Infrequent (2.8% 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: Few (3 per transect)

Abundance is calculated as the average number of individuals recorded per RLS transect, where present.