horse mackerel (disambiguation)

Horse mackerel is a vague vernacular term for a range of

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

fish Fish are aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish as well as various extinct related groups. Approximately 95% of ...

throughout the English-speaking world. It is commonly applied to

pelagic 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 re ...

es, especially of the

Carangidae The Carangidae are a family of ray-finned fish which includes the jacks, pompanos, jack mackerels, runners, and scads. It is the largest of the six families included within the order Carangiformes. Some authorities classify it as the only family ...

(jack mackerels and scads) family, most commonly those of the genera ''

Trachurus Jack mackerels or saurels are marine fish in the genus ''Trachurus'' of the family Carangidae. The name of the genus derives from the Greek words ''trachys'' ("rough") and ''oura'' ("tail"). Some species, such as ''T. murphyi'', are harvested in ...

'' or ''

Caranx ''Caranx'' is a genus of tropical to subtropical marine fishes in the jack family Carangidae, commonly known as jacks, trevallies and kingfishes. They are moderate- to large-sized, deep-bodied fishes which are distinguished from other carangid g ...

''. Species known as "horse mackerel" in one English dialect or another include: *''Alectis indicus'', Indian threadfish (Malaysia) *''Caranx crysos'', blue runner (Guadeloupe, Martinique) *''Caranx hippos'',

Crevalle jack The crevalle jack (''Caranx hippos''), also known as the common jack, black-tailed trevally, couvalli jack, black cavalli, jack crevale, or yellow cavalli is a common species of large marine fish classified within the jack family, Carangidae. The ...

(Guyana, India) *''Megalaspis cordyla'',

torpedo scad The torpedo scad (''Megalaspis cordyla''), also known as the hardtail scad, finny scad, finletted mackerel scad or cordyla scad, is a species of moderately large marine fish classified in the jack and horse mackerel family, Carangidae. The torped ...

(India) *''Naucrates ductor'',

pilot fish The pilot fish (''Naucrates ductor'') is a carnivorous fish of the trevally, or jackfish family, Carangidae. It is widely distributed and lives in warm or tropical open seas. Description The pilot fish congregates around sharks, rays, and se ...

*''Sarda australis'',

Australian bonito The Australian bonito, horse mackerel or little bonito, ''Sarda australis'' is a fish of the family Scombridae and is found in eastern Australia and New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pac ...

(Australia) *various

saurel Jack mackerels or saurels are marine fish in the genus ''Trachurus'' of the family Carangidae. The name of the genus derives from the Greek words ''trachys'' ("rough") and ''oura'' ("tail"). Some species, such as ''T. murphyi'', are harvested in ...

of the Pacific coast of the Americas *''Selar crumenophthalmus'',

bigeye The Priacanthidae, the bigeyes, are a family of 18 species of marine ray-finned fishes. " Catalufa" is an alternate common name for some members of the Priacanthidae. The etymology of the scientific name (, to bite + , thorn) refers to the fam ...

(India) *''Trachurus capensis'',

cape horse mackerel The Cape horse mackerel (''Trachurus capensis'') is a mackerel-like species in the family Carangidae. It is a pelagic species of the south eastern Atlantic Ocean which is a target of fisheries, mainly as bycatch. Description The Cape horse mack ...

(South Africa) *''Trachurus declivis'',

greenback horse mackerel The greenback horse mackerel or greenback scad (''Trachurus declivis'') is a species of jack in the family Carangidae, found around western and southern Australia, and around New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island coun ...

(Australia) *''Trachurus japonicus'',

Japanese horse mackerel The Japanese jack mackerel (''Trachurus japonicus''), also known as the Japanese horse mackerel or Japanese scad, is a species named after its resemblance to mackerel but which is in the family Carangidae, the jacks, pompanos, trevallies and sca ...

(Japan) *''Trachurus novaezelandiae'',

yellowtail horse mackerel The yellowtail horse mackerel (''Trachurus novaezelandiae''), also known as the yellowtail scad, is a jack in the family Carangidae found around Australia and New Zealand at depths to 500 m. Its length is up to . The yellowtail scad is the only ...

(New Zealand) *''Trachurus trachurus'',

Atlantic horse mackerel The Atlantic horse mackerel (''Trachurus trachurus''), also known as the European horse mackerel or common scad, is a species of jack mackerel in the family Carangidae, the jacks, pompanos and trevallies. It is found in the eastern Atlantic Ocea ...

(United Kingdom, Ireland) {{Animal common name Fish common names