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Barracuda

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Insects, Reptiles and
Fish

                     iBarracudas
   Great barracuda, Sphyraena barracuda, with prey
   Great barracuda, Sphyraena barracuda, with prey
              Scientific classification

   Kingdom: Animalia
   Phylum:  Chordata
   Class:   Actinopterygii
   Order:   Perciformes
   Family:  Sphyraenidae
   Genus:   Sphyraena
            Klein, 1778

                                   Species

   See text.

   Barracudas are ray-finned fishes notable for their large size (up to
   1.8 m or 6 ft) and fearsome appearance. The body is long, fairly
   compressed, and covered with small, smooth scales. They are found in
   tropical and subtropical oceans worldwide. Their genus Sphyraena is the
   only genus in the family Sphyraenidae.

Appearance and physical description

   Great barracuda hovering in the current at the Paradise Reef, Cozumel,
   Mexico.
   Enlarge
   Great barracuda hovering in the current at the Paradise Reef, Cozumel,
   Mexico.

   Barracudas are elongated fish with powerful jaws. The lower jaw of the
   large mouth juts out beyond the upper. Barracudas possess strong,
   fang-like teeth. These are unequal in size and set in sockets in the
   jaws on the roof of the mouth. The head is quite large and is pointed
   and pike-like in appearance. The gill-covers do not have spines and are
   covered with small scales. The two dorsal fins are widely separated,
   with the first having five spines and the second having one spine and
   nine soft rays. The second dorsal fin equals the anal fin in size and
   is situated more or less above it. The lateral line is prominent and
   extends straight from head to tail. The spinous dorsal fin is placed
   above the pelvics. The hind end of the caudal fin is forked or concave.
   It is set at the end of a stout peduncle. The pectoral fins are placed
   low down on the sides. The barracuda swim bladder is large.

   In general, the barracuda's coloration is dark green or grey above
   chalky-white below. This varies somewhat. Sometimes there is a row of
   darker cross-bars or black spots on each side. The fins may be
   yellowish or dusky.

Order and suborder

   Barracudas belong to the great order of Perch-like fish, Perciformes.
   Along with the smaller grey mullets and sand smelts or atherines,
   barracudas form the suborder known as mugiloids. Members of this group
   are distinguished from the Percoids by the backward position of the
   pelvic fins, which are located well behind the pectorals.

Behaviour

   Scuba diver inside a school of sawtooth barracudas in Koh Tao,
   Thailand.
   Enlarge
   Scuba diver inside a school of sawtooth barracudas in Koh Tao,
   Thailand.

   Barracudas occur both singly and in schools around reefs, but also
   appear in open seas. They are voracious predators and hunt using a
   classic example of lie-in-wait or ambush. They rely on surprise and
   short bursts of speed (up to 27mph) to overrun their prey, sacrificing
   maneuverability.

   The larger barracuda are more or less solitary in their habits. Young
   and half-grown fish frequently congregate in shoals. Their food is
   composed almost totally of fishes of all kinds. Large barracudas, when
   gorged, may attempt to hoard a shoal of prey fish in shallow water,
   where they guard over them until they are ready for another meal.

Barracudas and Humans

   Like sharks, barracudas have long had a bad reputation as being
   dangerous to humans. However, unprovoked attacks on humans are
   extremely rare and millions of scuba divers, snorkelers and swimmers
   spend time with them in the water without any incidents. Barracudas
   sometimes do follow snorkelers and scuba divers across a reef, which
   can make one feel uncomfortable, but they are harmless unless provoked.
   Because barracudas have a scavenger-like tendency, it has been
   theorized that barracudas tend to follow snorkelers because they
   believe that the snorkeler(s) might be a large predator(s) and if they
   were to capture prey it would be easy for the barracudas to scavenge
   whatever may be left behind.

   Being formidable hunters, they should be respected, as barracudas are
   perfectly capable of defending themselves against humans that harass
   them. Handfeeding or trying to touch them is strongly discouraged.
   Spearfishing around barracudas can also be quite dangerous, as they are
   strongly attracted by the wounded fish.

   There have been isolated cases where barracudas did bite a human
   thinking that part of it was a fish, but these incidents are rare and
   are believed to be caused by bad visibility. Barracudas will stop after
   the first bite as humans are not their normal food source.

As food

   They are caught as food and game fish. They are most often eaten as
   fillet or steak and have a strong taste like tuna or salmon. Larger
   species, like the great barracuda, have in some areas been implicated
   in cases of ciguatera food poisoning.

Fishing

   Barracudas are caught using fishing nets of various types along with
   trolling with lines baited with fish or other prey. The acute
   inquisitiveness of barracudas, together with their possessing hearty
   appetites, means that they will readily bite at artificial lures made
   up of feathers, pieces of colored rag, etc. Trolling for barracuda is a
   favorite sport on the coast of Florida. Here they are also caught on
   rod and line from stationary boats. The record for a hook and line
   caught great barracuda is 1.7 meter (5.5 ft), weighing 44 kilogram (103
   lbs).

Species

   A school of sawtooth barracudas, Sphyraena putnamae in Bora Bora.
   Enlarge
   A school of sawtooth barracudas, Sphyraena putnamae in Bora Bora.
   Northern sennet, Sphyraena borealis
   Enlarge
   Northern sennet, Sphyraena borealis

   There are 26 species:
     * Sharpfin barracuda, Sphyraena acutipinnis Day, 1876.
     * Guinean barracuda, Sphyraena afra Peters, 1844.
     * Pacific barracuda, Sphyraena argentea Girard, 1854.
     * Great barracuda, Sphyraena barracuda ( Walbaum, 1792).
     * Northern sennet, Sphyraena borealis DeKay, 1842.
     * Yellowstripe barracuda, Sphyraena chrysotaenia Klunzinger, 1884.
     * Mexican barracuda, Sphyraena ensis Jordan & Gilbert, 1882.
     * Yellowtail barracuda, Sphyraena flavicauda Rüppell, 1838.
     * Bigeye barracuda, Sphyraena forsteri Cuvier, 1829.
     * Guachanche barracuda, Sphyraena guachancho Cuvier, 1829.
     * Heller's barracuda, Sphyraena helleri Jenkins, 1901.
     * Sphyraena iburiensis Doiuchi & Nakabo, 2005.
     * Pelican barracuda, Sphyraena idiastes Heller & Snodgrass, 1903.
     * Japanese barracuda, Sphyraena japonica Cuvier, 1829.
     * Pickhandle barracuda, Sphyraena jello Cuvier, 1829.
     * Lucas barracuda, Sphyraena lucasana Gill, 1863.
     * Australian barracuda, Sphyraena novaehollandiae Günther, 1860.
     * Obtuse barracuda, Sphyraena obtusata Cuvier, 1829.
     * Southern sennet, Sphyraena picudilla Poey, 1860.
     * Red barracuda, Sphyraena pinguis Günther, 1874.
     * Sawtooth barracuda, Sphyraena putnamae Jordan & Seale, 1905.
     * Blackfin barracuda, Sphyraena qenie Klunzinger, 1870.
     * European barracuda, Sphyraena sphyraena (Linnaeus, 1758).
     * Sphyraena tome Fowler, 1903.
     * Yellowmouth barracuda, Sphyraena viridensis Cuvier, 1829.
     * Sphyraena waitii Ogilby, 1908.

   Only some species of barracuda grow to a large size. The species which
   do are the European barracuda, barracouta or spet (S. sphyraena), found
   in the Mediterranean and eastern Atlantic; the great barracuda, picuda
   or becuna (S. picuda), ranging on the Atlantic coast of tropical
   America from Florida to Brazil and reaching the Bermudas; the
   California Barracuda (S. argentea), extending from Puget Sound
   southwards to Cape San Lucas; the Indian barracuda (S. jello) and the
   black-finned or Commerson's barracuda (S. commersoni), both from the
   seas of India and the Malay Peninsula and Archipelago.
   Retrieved from " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barracuda"
   This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia
   with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details
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