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Family Sphyraenidae - Barracudas
Sphyraena flavicauda - Yellow-tail Barracuda
A school of Yellow Tail Barracuda.
An adult Yellow Tail Barracuda.
Distinguishing features
An elongate silvery fish with large eyes and a yellowish tail. Usually seen in schools over coral reefs or along rocky shores. Maximum size about 37cm.
Locations
Found in most bays of the island.
Habitat Preferences
Coral reef crests and deeper reef slopes.
Biology & Ecology
This species feeds on reef based crustaceans when small but then moves on to feed on small fishes in the adult sizes. They are usually seen quietly aggregating near prominant coral bommies during the daytime, and the same school will use an area for an extended period of time. Schools can be seen along the reef edge at Florence Bay and Arthur Bay, and underneath the Picnic Bay Jetty.
Papers and articles
S. K. WILSON, D. T. WILSON, C. LAMONT AND M. EVANS.
2006. Identifying individual great barracuda Sphyraena
barracuda using natural body marks. Journal of Fish Biology (2006) 69,
928–932