page_title: Alepes
section_title: Biology
hierarchical_section_title: Alepes / Biology
caption_attribution_description: Hand drawn and coloured diagram of the smallmouth scad, Alepes apercna. Based on Carpenter et al 2002 and description by Gunn 1990
context_page_description: Alepes is a genus containing five extant species of tropical marine fishes in the jack family, Carangidae. They are commonly known as scads, a term applied to many genera of carangid fishes. Their body form, however, differs from these other scads by being much more ovate in shape, more similar to the larger jacks taken as game fish, although scads are generally much smaller. They are found in coastal waters throughout the Indo-West Pacific region.
context_section_description: The species in Alepes are all relatively small fish, with the largest, A. vari, growing to 56 centimetres (22 in). The other species are much more often encountered at sizes below 20 centimetres (8 in). They have strongly compressed ovate to oblong shaped bodies, with fin arrangements much like the rest of the Carangidae. They have two dorsal fins, the first consisting of weak spines and the second of a single spine followed by a number of soft rays. The anal fin has two detached spines anterior to the main section which consists of one spine and a number of soft rays. Their lateral lines have a moderate to strong anterior curve, with scutes present on the straight section of the lateral line. They are all a blue-green-grey above, fading to silvery white below. Only one, A. kleinni has bands or markings.
  The fish in Alepes are all predators, taking a range of crustaceans including copepods, decapods, prawns and shrimp, as well as small fish. At least one species shows a change in feeding intensity over the period of a year. The reproduction of most species is unstudied, except for A. kleinii. This species spawns on a single event over a period of a few months, releasing small transparent, pelagic eggs. Natural spawning behavior in the genus is unknown.
caption: Smallmouth scad, Alepes apercna
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