page_title: Bluespotted trevally
section_title: Description
hierarchical_section_title: Bluespotted trevally / Description
caption_attribution_description: English: Caranx bucculentus taken off Port Moresby, QLD
context_page_description: The bluespotted trevally, also known as the wide-mouthed trevally, is a species of moderately large marine fish in the jack family Carangidae. The bluespotted trevally is distributed through the tropical east Indian and west Pacific Oceans, ranging from Taiwan in the north to Australia in the south. It is an inshore species, found in sandy, muddy and seagrass environments, often in large bays. The bluespotted trevally is distinguished by dark blue spots on its upper body, as well as a number of more detailed anatomical features. It is a benthopelagic predator, taking a variety of crustaceans including crabs and prawns as a juvenile, before shifting to a more fish-dominated diet as an adult. It is one of the most common predators in the Gulf of Carpentaria of northern Australia, and is considered the most important predator of commercially important prawn species. Sexual maturity is reached at 110 mm in length and one year of age, with spawning occurring year round with a peak in spring. Growth is estimated to be 82.2 mm per year for both sexes, reaching a maximum known length of 66 cm.
context_section_description: The bluespotted trevally is a moderately large fish, growing to a known maximum length of 66 cm. It has a body shape characteristic of many of the larger species of Caranx, possessing a strongly compressed, oblong form with the dorsal profile, particularly anteriorly, much more convex than the ventral profile. The dorsal fin is in two distinct sections, the first consisting of eight spines while the second has one spine and 18 or 19 soft rays. The anal fin consists of two detached spines anteriorly followed by one spine and 15 to 17 soft rays, while the pelvic fin has 1 spine followed by 18 soft rays. The species lateral line is very strongly curved over a short length, becoming straight before the origin of the second dorsal fin, with this straight section over 2.5 times the length of the curved section. The curved section contain 40 to 50 scales while the straight section contains no scales, but 33 to 39 strong scutes. The breast is naked ventrally, with this area extending to behind the origin of the pelvic fins and diagonally to the base of pectoral fins. The eyes have a moderately well-developed posterior adipose eyelid which usually extends to the posterior edge of the pupil. The upper jaw contains an outer row of strong canines and an inner band of villiform teeth, while the lower jaw has only a single band of conical teeth. The species has 26 to 31 gill rakers in total and 24 vertebrae.
  The bluespotted trevally is a pale olive green above, fading to a more silvery white below, with adults having numerous small blue spots on the upper half of their bodies. The upper end of the opercle has a large dark spot, with a black spot also present at the upper base of the pectoral fins. All the fins are yellow green.
caption: The short, sharply curved front section of the lateral line and blue spots distinguish the species
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