Common Name: Blackfin Barracuda

Distribution: Uncommon in the Solitary Islands Marine Park. Distributed throughout the tropical Indo-Pacific region: from the Persian Gulf, Red Sea and East Africa to French Polynesia. Also in the Eastern Pacific: Mexico and Panama. Exact worldwide distribution uncertain due to difficulty distinguishing from similar species. In Australia recorded from the waters in the Gulf of Carpentaria, from Torres Strait in Queensland south to northern New South Wales. 

Ecological Notes: Frequents areas of current adjacent to current swept seaward reefs and lagoons. Forms large schools during daylight hours often stationary in the same location for long periods of months or even years at a time. Depth 1 – 100 m.

Additional Notes: Shiny silver with up to 20 dark bars crossing the body and scalloped black or black edged tail fin. Feeds at night on small fishes. Grows to 170 cm but usually shorter at 80 cm.

References: R. Stuart-Smith, G. Edgar, A. Green, I. Shaw, Tropical Marine Fishes of Australia. Reed New Holland Publishers, 2015. p.439.

Atlas of Living Australia website at https://bie.ala.org.au/search?q=Sphyraena+qenie. Accessed 09/07/18.

FishBase. Froese, R. and D. Pauly. Editors. 2018. World Wide Web electronic publication. https://fishbase.ca/summary/Sphyraena-qenie.html. Accessed 09/07/18.