Species: Auxis rochei rochei, Bullet Mackerel

Auxis rochei rochei (Risso, 1810)

Bullet Mackerel

Body elongate, rounded; no fatty eyelid; jaw teeth slender, conical; top of tongue with 2 ridges; 2 dorsal fins widely separated; 1st dorsal X-XII spines; ~8 finlets behind 2nd dorsal fin, ~7 behind anal fin; a single-pointed long bony process between pelvic fins; pectoral fins short, not reaching a vertical line from anterior margin of scaleless area on back; 1 large + 2 small keels on tail base; tail fin deeply forked; 1 lateral line; a well developed corselet of scales on front of body, rear extension of corselet is wide (10-15 scales wide under 2nd dorsal fin).

Back dark bluish; a patch of 15 or more fairly broad, nearly vertical dark bars in scaleless area above lateral line, patch starts behind 1st dorsal and pectoral fins, belly white.

Maximum size 55 cm; 1.84 kg.

Inhabits coastal and oceanic waters, forming large schools.

Depth: 0-200 m.

This subspecies is worldwide in tropical and subtropical seas (except in the eastern Pacific, where it is replaced by A. rochei eudorax); New York to central Brazil.