Barracuda

A **barracuda** is a ray finned-fish that is about 6 feet in length. It is found in tropical and subtropical oceans worldwide.

It is of the genus ***Sphyraena***, the only genus in the family **Sphyraenidae**. It is famous for its intimidating and ferocious behavior. It is the reason that divers take off any shiny or glittery bracelets in the water. They eat fish that are silver in color, which may cause them to attack someone if they are wearing any shimmering objects.

These fish usually stay near the top of the water around sea grass and coral reefs.

## Description

Barracudas have long bodies and sharp teeth like a piranha. Their gill covers are covered with small scales and they have far away dorsal fins. They have a large swim bladder.

### Extant species

Barracudas have 29 extant species:

- _Sphyraena acutipinnis_ <small>F. Day, 1876</small> (Sharpfin barracuda)
- _Sphyraena afra_ <small>W. K. H. Peters, 1844</small> (Guinean barracuda)
- _Sphyraena arabiansis_ <small>E. M. Abdussamad, Ratheesh, Thangaraja, Bineesh & D. Prakashan, 2015</small> (Arabian barracuda)
- _Sphyraena argentea_ <small>Girard, 1854</small> (Pacific barracuda)
- _Sphyraena barracuda_ <small>(G. Edwards, 1771)</small> (Great barracuda)
- _Sphyraena borealis_ <small>DeKay, 1842</small> (Northern sennet)
- _Sphyraena chrysotaenia_ <small>Klunzinger, 1884</small> (Yellowstripe barracuda)
- _Sphyraena ensis_ <small>D. S. Jordan & C. H. Gilbert, 1882</small> (Mexican barracuda)
- _Sphyraena flavicauda_ <small>Rüppell, 1838</small> (Yellowtail barracuda)
- _Sphyraena forsteri_ <small>G. Cuvier, 1829</small> (Bigeye barracuda)
- _Sphyraena guachancho_ <small>G. Cuvier, 1829</small> (Guachanche barracuda)
- _Sphyraena helleri_ <small>O. T. Jenkins, 1901</small> (Heller's barracuda)
- _Sphyraena iburiensis_ <small>Doiuchi & Nakabo, 2005</small>
- _Sphyraena idiastes_ <small>Heller & Snodgrass, 1903</small> (Pelican barracuda)
- _Sphyraena intermedia_ <small>Pastore, 2009</small>
- _Sphyraena japonica_ <small>Bloch & J. G. Schneider, 1801</small> (Japanese barracuda)
- _Sphyraena jello_ <small>G. Cuvier, 1829</small> (Pickhandle barracuda)
- _Sphyraena lucasana_ <small>T. N. Gill, 1863</small> (Lucas barracuda)
- _Sphyraena novaehollandiae_ <small>Günther, 1860</small> (Australian barracuda)
- _Sphyraena obtusata_ <small>G. Cuvier, 1829</small> (Obtuse barracuda)
- _Sphyraena picudilla_ <small>Poey, 1860</small> (Southern sennet)
- _Sphyraena pinguis_ <small>Günther, 1874</small> (Red barracuda)
- _Sphyraena putnamae_ <small>D. S. Jordan & Seale, 1905</small> (Sawtooth barracuda)
- _Sphyraena qenie_ <small>Klunzinger, 1870</small> (Blackfin barracuda)
- _Sphyraena sphyraena_ <small>Linnaeus, 1758 (type)</small> (European barracuda)
- _Sphyraena tome_ <small>Fowler, 1903</small>
- _Sphyraena viridensis_ <small>G. Cuvier, 1829</small> (Yellowmouth barracuda)
- _Sphyraena waitii_ <small>W. Ogilby, 1908</small>

### Extinct species

There are also extinct species:

- †_Sphyraena_ _amici_ <small>Agassiz, 1843</small>
- †_Sphyraena bognorensis_ <small>Casier, 1966</small>
- †_Sphyraena bolcensis_ <small>Agassiz, 1844</small>
- †_Sphyraena crassidens_ <small>de Beaufort, 1926</small>
- †_Sphyraena croatica_ <small>Gorjanović-Kramberger, 1882</small>
- †_Sphyraena cunhai_ <small>da Silva Santos & Travassos, 1960</small>
- †_Sphyraena egleri_ <small>da Silva Santos & Travassos, 1960</small>
- †_Sphyraena fajumensis_ <small>(Dames, 1883)</small>
- †_Sphyraena hansfuchsi_ <small>(Schubert, 1906)</small>
- †_Sphyraena kugleri_ <small>Casier, 1966</small>
- †_Sphyraena longimana_ <small>Arambourg, 1966</small>
- †_Sphyraena lugardi_  <small>White, 1926</small>
- †_Sphyraena major_ <small>Leidy, 1855</small>
- †_Sphyraena malembeensis_ <small>Dartevelle & Casier, 1943</small>
- †_Sphyraena pannonica_ <small>Weiler, 1938</small>
- †_Sphyraena senni_ <small>Casier, 1966</small>
- †_Sphyraena sternbergensis_ <small>Winkler, 1875</small>
- †_Sphyraena striata_ <small>Casier, 1946</small>
- †_Sphyraena substriata_ <small>(Münster, 1846)</small>
- †_Sphyraena suessi_ <small>Gorjanović-Kramberger, 1882</small>
- †_Sphyraena tsengi_ <small>Tao, 1993</small>
- †_Sphyraena tyrolensis_ <small>von Meyer, 1863</small>
- †_Sphyraena viannai_ <small>Dartevelle & Casier, 1949</small>
- †“_Sphyraena_” _viennensis_ <small>Steindachner, 1859</small>
- †_Sphyraena weberi_ <small>Leriche, 1954</small>
- †_Sphyraena winkleri_ <small>Lawley, 1876</small>

## How they attack prey

These ferocious creatures attack prey by surprising them. They also release short bursts of speed up to 27 mph (43 km/h).

## Human interactions

Barracudas sometimes attack people, especially when they get shiny jewelry. Luckily, these attacks are rare and are usually caused by poor visibility.

## Related pages

- Sphyraena intermedia
- Sphyraena barracuda
- Sphyraena sphyraena
- List of fish common names
- Parasphyraena – a related genus from the Miocene of Azerbaijan

## References

1. <small>"Barracuda | fish". _Encyclopedia Britannica_. Retrieved 2019-05-03.</small>
1. <small>"Barracuda Fish Facts". _AtlanticPanic_.</small>
1. <small>"Jumping barracuda injures kayaker off Florida Keys". _Reuters_.</small>
1. <small>Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.) (2019). "_Sphyraena acutipinnis_" in FishBase. August 2019 version.</small>

## Other websites

- Sphyraena on Wikidata