Coachwhip trevally

{{Short description|Species of ray-finned fish}} {{Speciesbox | image = Coachwhip trevally Weipa.jpg | status = LC | status_system = IUCN3.1 | status_ref = <ref name = iucn>{{cite iucn | author1 = Smith-Vaniz, W.F. | author2 = Williams, I. | name-list-style = amp | year = 2016 | title = ''Carangoides oblongus'' |errata=2017 | volume = 2016 | article-number = e.T20429854A115375320 | doi = 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T20429854A65927740.en | access-date = 19 February 2022 }}</ref> | taxon = Carangichthys oblongus | authority = ([[Georges Cuvier|Cuvier]], 1833) | range_map = Carangoides oblongus distribution.png | range_map_caption = Approximate range of the coachwhip trevally | synonyms = *''Caranx oblongus'' Cuvier, 1833 *''Carangoides oblongus'' (Cuvier, 1833) *''Caranx auriga'' [[Charles Walter De Vis|De Vis]], 1884 *''Caranx deani'' [[David Starr Jordan|Jordan]] & [[Alvin Seale|Seale]], 1905 *''Citula gracilis'' [[James Douglas Ogilby|Ogilby]], 1915 *''Caranx gracilis'' (Ogilby, 1915) *''Caranx tanakai'' [[Yojiro Wakiya|Wakiya]], 1924 | synonyms_ref = <ref name="ECoF species" /><ref name = "fishbase"/> }}

The '''coachwhip trevally''' ('''''Carangichthys oblongus'''''), also known as the '''oblong trevally''' or '''oblique-banded trevally''', is a [[species]] of inshore [[marine (ocean)|marine]] [[fish]] classified in the jack [[Family (taxonomy)|family]] [[Carangidae]]. The coachwhip trevally is distributed through the [[Indo-pacific|Indo-west Pacific]] region, ranging from [[South Africa]] in the west to [[Fiji]] and [[Japan]] in the east. It is a moderately large fish, growing to a known maximum length of 46 cm and can be distinguished from similar species by an array of detailed morphological features including [[dentition]], fin ray counts and [[scale (zoology)|scale]] patterns. The coachwhip trevally inhabits [[coastal]] waters throughout its range, known to prefer [[estuarine]] waters in a number of localities. Nothing is known of its diet or reproductive biology, and is of little importance to [[fisheries]], occasionally taken as bycatch in [[trawl]] and hook and line fisheries.

==Taxonomy and naming== The coachwhip trevally is classified within the genus ''[[Carangichthys]]''. ''Carangichthys'' falls into the jack and horse mackerel family [[Carangidae]], and Carangidae is part of the [[Order (biology)|order]] [[Carangiformes]].<ref name = Nelson5>{{cite book |title=Fishes of the World |edition=5th |author1=J. S. Nelson |author2=T. C. Grande |author3=M. V. H. Wilson |year=2016 |pages=380–387 |publisher=Wiley |isbn=978-1-118-34233-6 |url=https://sites.google.com/site/fotw5th/ |access-date=2019-11-24 |archive-date=2019-04-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190408194051/https://sites.google.com/site/fotw5th/ }}</ref>

The species was first [[scientific classification|scientifically described]] by the French [[naturalist]] [[Georges Cuvier]] in 1833 based on a specimen taken from the waters of [[New Guinea]] which was designated to be the [[holotype]].<ref name = "Zoocat" >{{cite book | last = Hosese | first = D.F. |author2=Bray, D.J. |author3=Paxton, J.R. |author4=Alen, G.R. | title = Zoological Catalogue of Australia Vol. 35 (2) Fishes | publisher = CSIRO | date = 2007 | location = Sydney | page = 1150 | isbn =978-0-643-09334-8 }}</ref> Cuvier named this new species ''[[Caranx]] oblongus'', with the [[specific name (zoology)|specific epithet]] meaning 'oblong' in reference to the species shape. Over time, it was reclassified first into the genus ''Carangichthys'' and later into ''[[Carangoides]]'', but it is now once again placed in ''Carangichthys''.<ref name="ECoF species">{{Catalog of Fishes |genus=Carangichthys |list=species |date=12 February 2026}}</ref><ref name = "fishbase">{{FishBase | genus = Carangichthys | species = oblongus | year = 2026 | month = February}}</ref> The species was also independently redescribed and classified several times, first as ''Caranx auriga'' by Charles De Vis, ''Citula gracilis'' by [[William Ogilby]] and as ''Caranx tanakai'' by Yojiro Wakiya.<ref name = "fishbase" /> These names all were applied after Cuvier's initial, correct naming making them [[junior synonym]]s under [[International Code of Zoological Nomenclature|ICZN]] rules, rendering them invalid. The common names applied to the species are descriptive, with the name 'coachwhip trevally' in allusion to the elongated, [[whip]]-like dorsal fin lobe.<ref name = "Zoocat" />

==Description== The coachwhip trevally is a moderately large fish, known to grow to a known maximum length of 46 cm.<ref name = "fishbase"/> It is similar in shape to most other carangids, especially the [[shadow trevally]], ''Carangichthys dinema'', which it also resembles in having a 'shadowed' appearance under its second [[dorsal fin]].<ref name = "Lin1999">{{cite journal | last = Lin | first = Pai-Lei | author2 = Shao, Kwang-Tsao | title = A Review of the Carangid Fishes (Family Carangidae) From Taiwan with Descriptions of Four New Records | journal = Zoological Studies | volume = 38 | issue = 1 | pages = 33–68 | date = 1999 | url = http://cat.inist.fr/?aModele=afficheN&cpsidt=10055944 | access-date = 2008-10-29 | archive-date = 2012-02-29 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120229173915/http://cat.inist.fr/?aModele=afficheN&cpsidt=10055944 }}</ref> It can be distinguished from ''C. dinema'' by fin ray and [[lateral line]] scale and [[scute]] counts. It has a compressed, [[rectangle|oblong]] body with the [[anatomical terms of location#Dorsal and ventral|dorsal]] profile more [[wikt:convex|convex]] than the [[anatomical terms of location#Dorsal and ventral|ventral]] profile, with the head profile also slightly convex.<ref name = "FAO">{{cite book |editor-last=Carpenter |editor-first=Kent E. |editor2=Volker H. Niem | title = FAO species identification guide for fishery purposes. The living marine resources of the Western Central Pacific. Volume 5. Bony fishes part 3 (Menidae to Pomacentridae) | publisher = FAO | date = 2001 | location = Rome | page = 2684 | url = ftp://ftp.fao.org/docrep/fao/009/y4160e/y4160e00.pdf | isbn = 92-5-104587-9 }}</ref> The dorsal fin is divided into two distinct sections, the first containing 8 [[Fish anatomy#Spines and rays|spines]], while the second consists of 1 spine and 20 to 22 [[Fish anatomy#Spines and rays|soft rays]], with the lobe of this second fin being elongate and longer than the head length. The [[anal fin]] consists of 2 [[Anatomical terms of location#Anterior and posterior|anteriorly]] detached spines followed by 1 spine attached to 18 or 19 soft rays, while the [[pelvic fin]] has 1 spine followed by 18 or 19 soft rays.<ref name = "Lin1999"/> The [[lateral line]] has a moderate anterior arch, with the chord of this arch slightly shorter than the straight section, another feature which separates ''C. oblongus'' from ''C. dinema''. The curved section of the lateral line has 60 to 69 [[scale (zoology)|scales]] while the straight section has 0 to 2 scales and 37 to 42 scutes. The breast is scaleless, reaching ventrally to the pelvic fin origin, while laterally the naked breast is separated from the naked base of the [[pectoral fin]]s by a band of scales.<ref name = "Lin1999"/> Both [[jaw]]s contain bands of small teeth, with the bands becoming wider anteriorly. The upper jaw also hosts an irregular series of moderately large outer teeth, with the largest specimens showing this in the lower jaw as well. There are 26 to 30 [[gill raker]]s and 24 [[vertebrae]].<ref name = "FAO"/>

The coachwhip trevally is a dusky [[olive green]] colour above, fading to a silvery white or yellow below with small blue to black blotches present on the dorsal line between the bases of the second dorsal fin rays. The upper [[caudal fin|caudal]] and soft dorsal fins are dusky blue, while the anal fin is yellow having white lobe tips. The pelvic and pectoral fins are yellow. There is a diffuse dark [[Operculum (fish)|opercular]] blotch, which may be absent altogether.<ref name = "Gunn">{{cite journal | doi = 10.3853/j.0812-7387.12.1990.92 | last = Gunn | first = John S. | title = A revision of selected genera of the family Carangidae (Pisces) from Australian waters | journal = Records of the Australian Museum Supplement| volume = 12 | pages =1–78 | date = 1990 | doi-access = free }}</ref>

==Distribution and habitat== The coachwhip trevally is distributed throughout the [[tropical]] and subtropical regions of the [[Indian Ocean|Indian]] and west [[Pacific Ocean]]s.<ref name = "Gunn"/> In the Indian Ocean, the species ranges from [[South Africa]] and [[Madagascar]] in the west, northward to the [[Gulf of Aden]], but no records exist of captures in the [[Red Sea]] or further north until [[India]] and [[Sri Lanka]]. In the eastern Indian Ocean, it is known from [[China]], [[South East Asia]],<ref>{{cite journal | last = Kim | first = M.J. |author2=B.Y. Kim |author3=S.H. Han |author4=C.H. Lee |author5=C.B. Song | title = First Record of the carangid Fish, ''Carangoides oblongus'' (Carangidae, Perciformes) from Korea | journal = Korean Journal of Ichthyology | volume = 20 | issue = 2 | pages = 129–132 | date = 2008 }}</ref> [[Indonesia]] and northern [[Australia]]. In the Pacific its range extends from [[Papua New Guinea]] north to [[Taiwan]] and [[Japan]] and east to [[New Caledonia]] and [[Fiji]].<ref name = "fishbase"/>

The coachwhip trevally is known to inhabit [[coastal]] waters throughout its range. The few times it has been recorded in thorough species surveys it generally appears as juveniles in [[estuaries]], with this found in surveys around Australia,<ref name = "Gunn"/> Fiji<ref>{{cite journal | last = Lal | first = P. |author2=Swamy, K. |author3=Singh, P. | title = "Mangrove ecosystem" fisheries associated with mangroves and their management: Mangrove fishes in Wairiki Creek and their implications on the management of resources in Fiji | journal = UNESCO Marine Science Reports | volume = 27 | pages = 93–108 | date = 1984 }}</ref> and the [[Solomon Islands]].<ref>{{cite journal | last = Blaber | first = S.J.M. |author2=D.A. Milton | title = Species composition, community structure and zoogeography of fishes of mangrove estuaries in the Solomon Islands | journal = Marine Biology | volume = 105 | issue = 2 | pages = 259–267 | date = 1990 | doi = 10.1007/BF01344295 | bibcode = 1990MarBi.105..259B }}</ref> Adults also inhabit estuaries, but adults possibly move into [[bay]]s and over shallow [[reef]]s.<ref name = "Gunn"/>

==Biology and fishery== The coachwhip trevally has had extremely little information collected regarding its diet, ecological interactions, [[reproduction]] and growth. Based on other fish in the same genus, it is certainly a [[predator]]y fish, although its diet is wholly unknown.<ref name = "FAO"/> The species is of very little importance to [[fisheries]], and certainly does not have catch statistics kept for it, usually counted among other species of trevally. It is usually taken as bycatch in [[trawl]]ing and hook and line fisheries.<ref name = "FAO"/>

==References== {{Reflist|2}}

[[Category:Caranginae]] [[Category:Fish of the Indian Ocean]] [[Category:Fish of the Pacific Ocean]] [[Category:Marine fish of East Africa]] [[Category:Fish of Micronesia]] [[Category:Fish described in 1833|coachwhip trevally]] [[Category:Taxa named by Georges Cuvier|coachwhip trevally]] [[Category:Taxa named by Georges Cuvier]]