Barracuda's - Sphyraenidea
BARRACUDA'S - SPHYRAENIDEA
Around twenty different species of barracuda's swim in our seas and oceans. These long and streamlined fish are known predators with a long beak and sharp teeth. There have been reported attacks on people from some of the larger solitary-living specimen in the Caribbean sea, but no reports ever from the Indian Ocean areas. Do watch out when swimming with shiny objects when close to large solitary Barracudas though. Bad visibility or even the reflection of the sun on shiny objects may make them to think it's a shiny silvery fish which they may like to eat. The bigger barracuda species patrol reef-edges and shallow lagoons where they feed on rabbitfish, snappers and mackerel. The smaller species mainly feed on small fish. Young barracuda live pelagic and swim in schools. Their life on the reef starts when they reach approximately thirty centimeters in length. Often very big schools are observed swimming in huge funnel-shaped formations. We have no information about their reproduction. Length: 50 cm.
Distribution: From the Red Sea and E- Africa to SW- Japan, Samoa and Australia.
A long cylindrical and silvery body with pale to bright yellow tail base and fin.
Pair of yellowish-brown stripes on the sides. Lives in schools among lagoons, coastal reefs and outer reef slopes, to max. -30 m. Length: 180 cm.
Distribution: Circumtropic.
Large underslung jaw with sharp fang-like teeth. Several small dark blotches. Tailfin
with dark central area. Juveniles live in schools while adult species live solitary, day-active. From turbid inshore waters to open sea, curious but not dangerous in clear water unless provoked. Feeds on fish. Warning! Capable of inflicting severe wounds. Length: 100 cm.
Distribution: Red Sea to Panama, SW- Japan, Micronesia, New Caledonia, Australia.
Long silver cylindrical body, tail with dark margin. Between 18 and 22 dark vertical
markings on sides. Territorial, similar to S. putnamiae but bigger.
During the day in large schools, near clear lagoon and seaward reefs with a strong
current. Down to -50 m.