Sauries are fish of the

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

Scomberesocidae. There are two

genera Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nomenclat ...

, each containing two species. The name Scomberesocidae is derived from the ''scomber'', which in turn is derived from the

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

''skombros'', meaning "

mackerel Mackerel is a common name applied to a number of different species of pelagic fish, mostly from the family Scombridae. They are found in both temperate and tropical seas, mostly living along the coast or offshore in the oceanic environment. ...

", and the

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

''esox'' meaning

pike Pike, Pikes or The Pike may refer to: Fish * Blue pike or blue walleye, an extinct color morph of the yellow walleye ''Sander vitreus'' * Ctenoluciidae, the "pike characins", some species of which are commonly known as pikes * ''Esox'', genus of ...

. Sauries are marine

epipelagic fish Pelagic fish live in the pelagic zone of ocean or lake waters—being neither close to the bottom nor near the shore—in contrast with demersal fish that do live on or near the bottom, and reef fish that are associated with coral ree ...

which live in tropical and temperate waters. These fish often jump while swimming near the surface, skimming the water, which is similar to

flying fish The Exocoetidae are a family of marine fish in the order Beloniformes class Actinopterygii, known colloquially as flying fish or flying cod. About 64 species are grouped in seven to nine genera. While they cannot fly in the same way a bird do ...

, a fellow member of the order

beloniformes Beloniformes is an order composed of six families (and about 264 species) of freshwater and marine ray-finned fish: * Adrianichthyidae (ricefish and medakas) * Belonidae (needlefish) * Exocoetidae (flyingfishes) * Hemiramphidae (halfbeaks) ...

. The jaws of sauries are beak-like, ranging from long, slender beaks to relatively short ones with the lower jaw only slightly elongated. The mouth openings of sauries, however, are small and the jaws have weak teeth. The most distinctive feature of sauries, however, is the presence of a row of small finlets behind the

dorsal Dorsal (from Latin ''dorsum'' ‘back’) may refer to: * Dorsal (anatomy), an anatomical term of location referring to the back or upper side of an organism or parts of an organism * Dorsal, positioned on top of an aircraft's fuselage * Dorsal c ...

and

anal fin Fins are distinctive anatomical features composed of bony spines or rays protruding from the body of a fish. They are covered with skin and joined together either in a webbed fashion, as seen in most bony fish, or similar to a flipper, as se ...

s. They also lack

swim bladder The swim bladder, gas bladder, fish maw, or air bladder is an internal gas-filled Organ (anatomy), organ that contributes to the ability of many bony fish (but not cartilaginous fish) to control their buoyancy, and thus to stay at their curren ...

s. Sauries grow to a maximum length of about , but the group also includes the smallest of all epipelagic fish, ''

Cololabis adocetus The saury (''Cololabis adocetus'') is a species of fish (not to be confused with the Pacific saury, another species in the genus ''Cololabis'') which is a member of the family Scomberesocidae, or the saury family. It is widespread in the Eastern P ...

'', with an adult length of just . They are harvested commercially as a

food fish Food is any substance consumed by an organism for nutritional support. Food is usually of plant, animal, or fungal origin, and contains essential nutrients, such as carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, or minerals. The substance is ingest ...

;

Pacific saury The Pacific saury (''Cololabis saira'') is a member of the family Scomberesocidae. Saury is a seafood in several East Asian cuisines and is also known by the name mackerel pike. Biology Saury is a fish with a small mouth, an elongated body, ...

are consumed often in

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

and

Korean cuisine Korean cuisine has evolved through centuries of social and political change. Originating from ancient agricultural and nomadic traditions in Korea and southern Manchuria, Korean cuisine reflects a complex interaction of the natural envi ...

. The fish is usually grilled. The ''Saury'', a ''Sargo''-class

submarine A submarine (or sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability. The term is also sometimes used historically or colloquially to refer to remotely op ...

, was the only ship of the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

to be named for this fish.

Genera

There are two recognised genera within the family Scomberesocidae: *''

Cololabis ''Cololabis'' is a genus of sauries found in the eastern and northern Pacific Ocean. The name is derived from the Greek word ''kolos'', meaning "short", and the Latin word ''labis'', meaning "forceps", referring to the short beak of the type sp ...

Gill A gill () is a respiratory organ that many aquatic organisms use to extract dissolved oxygen from water and to excrete carbon dioxide. The gills of some species, such as hermit crabs, have adapted to allow respiration on land provided they are ...

, 1896 *''

Scomberesox ''Scomberesox'' is a genus of sauries. It is one of two in the family Scomberesocidae. The generic name ''Scomberesox'' is a he name id a compound of ''scomber'', which in turn is derived from the Greek ''skombros'', meaning "mackerel", and the ...

'' Lacepède, 1803

References

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q1342872 Beloniformes Ray-finned fish families

Genera

See also

References