Identification World Billfish Series Species Identification Click on your browser's BACK button to return. The body is entirely covered with scales, which are very small except in the pectoral region.
Bonito have large conical teeth on both the upper and lower jaw.
No swimbladder is present, and there are 16-24 gill rakers on the first gill arch. The pectoral fins are very short, and there are 20-23 fin rays on the 1st dorsal fin. The right and left lobes of the liver are elongate, while the center lobe is short. Bonito are common in tropical and temperate waters of the Atlantic from Argentina to Nova Scotia, and from South Africa to Norway, but they are rare in the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico. Known to skip or leap over the surface of the water when in pursuit of prey.