{{Short description|Tribe of fishes}} {{Other uses|Bonito (disambiguation)}} {{Distinguish|Bonita (disambiguation)}} {{Automatic taxobox | name = Bonito | image =Sarda sarda.jpg | image_upright = | image_caption = Atlantic bonito, ''Sarda sarda'' | taxon = Sardini | authority =Jordan and Evermann, 1896 | subdivision_ranks = Genera | subdivision = * ''Cybiosarda'' <small>(Whitley, 1935)</small> * ''Gymnosarda'' <small>Gill, 1862</small> * ''Orcynopsis'' <small>Gill, 1862</small> * ''Sarda'' <small>(Cuvier, 1832)</small> }}
'''Bonitos''' are a tribe of medium-sized, ray-finned, predatory fish in the family Scombridae, which it shares with the mackerel, tuna, and Spanish mackerel tribes, and also the butterfly kingfish.<ref name=ITIS>{{ITIS|id=638250|taxon=Sardini |access-date = 28 October 2012 }}</ref> Also called the tribe '''Sardini''', it consists of eight species across four genera; three of those four genera are monotypic, having a single species each. Bonitos closely resemble the skipjack tuna, which is often called a bonito, especially in Japanese contexts.
== Etymology == The fish's name comes from the Spanish ''bonito'' (no evidence has been found for the origin of the name), identical to the adjective meaning "pretty", but the noun referring to the fish seems to come from the low and medieval Latin form ''boniton'', a word with a strange structure and an obscure origin, related to the word ''byza'', a possible borrowing from the Greek βῦζα, "owl".<ref name="oed">''Oxford English Dictionary'', 3rd edition, 2018, [http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/21342 ''s.v.'']</ref><ref>[http://www.cnrtl.fr/lexicographie/Bonite "Bonite"], French {{ill|National Centre for Textual and Lexical Resources|fr|Centre national de ressources textuelles et lexicales}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=BONITO |url=https://etimologias.dechile.net/?bonito |access-date=2023-04-21 |website=Etimologías de Chile - Diccionario que explica el origen de las palabras |language=es}}</ref>
== Species == * Genus ''Sarda'' <small>(Cuvier, 1832)</small> ** Australian bonito, ''S. australis'' <small>(Macleay, 1881)</small> ** ''S. chiliensis'' <small>(Cuvier, 1832)</small> *** Eastern Pacific bonito, ''S. c. chiliensis'' <small>(Cuvier, 1832)</small> *** Pacific bonito, ''S. c. lineolata'' <small>(Girard, 1858)</small> ** Striped bonito, ''S. orientalis'' <small>(Temminck & Schlegel, 1844)</small> ** Atlantic bonito, ''S. sarda'' <small>(Bloch, 1793)</small> * Genus ''Cybiosarda'' <small>(Whitley, 1935)</small> ** Leaping bonito, ''C. elegans'' <small>(Whitley, 1935)</small> * Genus ''Gymnosarda'' <small>Gill, 1862</small> ** Dogtooth tuna, ''G. unicolor'' <small>(Rüppell, 1836)</small> * Genus ''Orcynopsis'' <small>Gill, 1862</small> ** Plain bonito, ''O. unicolor'' <small>(Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 1817)</small>
== As food== Pacific and Atlantic bonito meat has a firm texture and a darkish color, as well as a moderate fat content. The meat of young or small bonito can be of light color, close to that of skipjack tuna, and is sometimes used as a cheap substitute for skipjack, especially for canning purposes, and occasionally in the production of cheap varieties of ''katsuobushi'' that are sold as "bonito flakes".<ref>Katsuobushi: Dried Bonito Flakes. Japanese Cooking 101. https://www.japanesecooking101.com/dried-bonito-flakes/. Accessed Sept 2019</ref> Bonito may not, however, be marketed as tuna in all countries. The Atlantic bonito is also found in the Mediterranean and the Black Seas, where it is a popular food fish, eaten grilled, pickled (''lakerda''), or baked.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Daskalov|first1=Georgi M|last2=Demirel|first2=Nazli|last3=Ulman|first3=Aylin|last4=Georgieva|first4=Yoana|last5=Zengin|first5=Mustafa|date=2020-12-01|title=Stock dynamics and predator–prey effects of Atlantic bonito and bluefish as top predators in the Black Sea|url=https://doi.org/10.1093/icesjms/fsaa182|journal=ICES Journal of Marine Science|volume=77|issue=7–8|pages=2995–3005|doi=10.1093/icesjms/fsaa182|issn=1054-3139|url-access=subscription}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|title=AGE AND GROWTH OF ATLANTIC BONITO (SARDA SARDA) IN WESTERN MEDITERRANEAN SEA|url=https://www.iccat.int/Documents/CVSP/CV062_2008/n_5/CV062051649.pdf|journal=Sci. Pap. ICCAT, 62(5): 1649-1658 (2008)}}</ref>
==See also== * Hiragonic acid * Other fish sometimes called "bonito" include skipjack tuna, ''Katsuwonus pelamis''
== References == {{Reflist}} <!-- === Sources === {{refbegin}} * {{ITIS |id = 638250 |taxon = Sardini |access-date = 28 October 2012 }} {{refend}} -->
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Category:Scombridae Category:Taxa named by David Starr Jordan Category:Taxa named by Barton Warren Evermann