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Thunnus alalunga (Bonnaterre, 1788)
ALBACORE
Albacore Tuna; Long-fin Tunny; Long-finned Albacore; Thunnus germo Lacépède, 1801; Thunnus germon Lacépède, 1800; Germo germon steadi Whitley, 1933; Scomber germo Lacépède, 1801; Scomber germon Lacépède, 1800; Scomber alalunga Bonnaterre, 1788

Life   Vertebrata   Fish   Scombridae   Thunnus

Thunnus alalunga
© Copyright IATTC 1999, 2006 · -3
Thunnus alalunga

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Overview
Main identification features
  • body deepest under 2nd dorsal fin
  • c: rear edge white
  • pectoral: very long (passes 2nd dorsal fin ), tip straight
Two small keels on tail base, separated by a third, large keel; no adipose eyelid; teeth slender, conical; well developed scaly corselet on anterior body, body with small scales behind corselet; tongue with cartilaginous ridges; deep body, with greatest depth at origin of second dorsal fin; dorsal and anal fins with ~9 and ~8 anal finlets behind them; pectoral very long (reaches well past D2 base) and with straight point; second dorsal fin lower than first; 25-31 rakers on first gill arch.

Faint iridescent blue stripe along flank; first dorsal deep yellow; second dorsal and anal light yellow; anal finlets dark grey; tail grey, with white rear border.

Size: 152 cm.

Habitat: oceanic.

Depth: 0-600 m.

Circumglobal, temperate; California to the tip of Baja California and the Revillagigedos, the Galapagos and to southern Peru.


Attributes
Abundance: Common.
Cites: Not listed.
Climate Zone: North Temperate (Californian Province &/or Northern Gulf of California); Northern Subtropical (Cortez Province + Sinaloan Gap); Antitropical (North and South temperate); South Temperate (Peruvian Province ); Northern Tropical (Mexican Province to Nicaragua + Revillagigedos); Equatorial (Costa Rica to Ecuador + Galapagos, Clipperton, Cocos, Malpelo).
Depth Range Max: 600 m.
Depth Range Min: 0 m.
Diet: bony fishes; Pelagic crustacea; octopus/squid/cuttlefish.
Eastern Pacific Range: Northern limit=33; Southern limit=-9; Western limit=-118; Eastern limit=-79; Latitudinal range=42; Longitudinal range=39.
Egg Type: Pelagic; Pelagic larva.
Feeding Group: Carnivore.
FishBase Habitat: Pelagic.
Global Endemism: Circumtropical ( Indian + Pacific + Atlantic Oceans); East Pacific + Atlantic (East +/or West); East Pacific + all Atlantic (East+West); All Pacific (West + Central + East); TEP non-endemic; "Transpacific" (East + Central &/or West Pacific); All species.
Habitat: Water column.
Inshore Offshore: Offshore; Offshore Only.
IUCN Red List: Data deficient; Listed.
Length Max: 152 cm.
Regional Endemism: Island (s); Continent; Continent + Island (s); Tropical Eastern Pacific (TEP) non-endemic; Eastern Pacific non-endemic; All species.
Residency: Vagrant.
Salinity: Marine; Marine Only.
Water Column Position: Mid Water; Near Surface; Surface; Water column only;


Names
Scientific source:

Links to other sites

References
  • Bonnaterre, J. P., 1788., Tableau encyclopédique et méthodique des trois règnes de la nature... Ichthyologie. Paris., Tabl. Encyclop. Méthod. Ichthyol., :1-215.
  • Briggs, J.C., 1960., Fishes of worldwide (circumtropical) distribution., Copeia, 1960:171-180.
  • Béarez, P., 1996., Lista de los Peces Marinos del Ecuador Continental., Revista de Biologia Tropical, 44:731-741.
  • Collette , B. B. and Nauen, C. E., 1983., Scombrids of the world. An annotated and illustrated catalogue of tunas, mackerels, bonitos and related species known to date. FAO species catalogue Vol. 2., FAO Fish. Synop. No 125, 125.
  • Collette, B.B., Reeb, C. and Block, B.A., 2001., Systematics of the tunas and mackerels (Scombridae)., Fish Physiology, 19:1-33.
  • Eschmeyer , W. N. , Herald , E. S. and Hamman, H., 1983., A field guide to Pacific coast fishes of North America from the Gulf of Alaska to Baja California. Peterson Field Guide Ser. 28., Houghton Mifflin:336pp.
  • Fischer , W. , Krup , F. , Schneider , W. , Sommer , C. , Carpenter , K. E. and Niem, V. H., 1995., Guia FAO para la Identificacion de Especies de para los fines de la Pesca. Pacifico Centro-Oriental. Volumen III. Vertebrados - Parte 2., FAO3:1201-1813.
  • Grove , J.S. and Lavenberg, R. J., 1997., The fishes of the Galápagos islands., Stanford University Press:863 pp.
  • Jimenez-Prado, P., Béarez, P., 2004., Peces marinos del Ecuador continental / Marine fishes of continental Ecuador., SIMBIOE/NAZCA/IFEA tomo 1 y 2.
  • Jordan, D.S., 1895., The fishes of Sinaloa., Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences (Series 2), 5:377-514.
  • Joseph , J. , Klawe , W. and Murphy, P., 1988., Tuna and Billfish - fish without a country., Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission:69.
  • Lopez , M. I. and Bussing, W. A., 1982., Lista provisional de los peces marinos de la Costa Rica., Revista de Biologia Tropical, 30(1):5-26.
  • Love, M.S., Mecklenburg, C.W., Mecklenburg, T.A., Thorsteinson, L.K., 2005., es of the West Coast and Alaska: a checklist of North Pacific and Artic Ocena species from Baja California to the Alaska-Yukon border., U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey, Biological Resources Division, 288pp.
  • Meek , S.E. and Hildebrand, S.F., 1923., The marine fishes of Panama. Part I., Field Mus. Nat. Hist., Zool. Ser. Publ., XV:1-330.
  • Schaefer, K. M., 2001., Reproductive biology of tunas., Fish Physiology, 19:225-270.
  • Van der Heiden , A. M. and Findley, L. T., 1988., Lista de los peces marinos del sur de Sinaloa, México., Anales del Centro de Ciencias del Mar y Limnologia de la Universidad Autonoma Nacional de Mexico, 15:209-224.

Acknowledgements

I thank Ashley MacDonald and John Pickering, University of Georgia, for technical support in building this page.


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Thunnus alalunga, Albacore : fisheries, gamefish
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Common name (e.g. trout)

Genus + Species (e.g. Gadus morhua)

Thunnus alalunga ( Bonnaterre , 1788 )

Albacore Add your observation in Fish Watcher
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Pictures | Videos | Stamps, Coins Misc. | Google image Image of Thunnus alalunga (Albacore) Thunnus alalunga
Picture by Archambault, C.

Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes( genus , species ) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa

Teleostei (teleosts) > Scombriformes (Mackerels) > Scombridae (Mackerels, tunas, bonitos) > Scombrinae
Etymology: Thunnus: Greek, thynnos = tunna (Ref. 45335 ) .
More on author: Bonnaterre .

Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range Ecology

Marine; pelagic-oceanic; oceanodromous (Ref. 51243 ); depth range 0 - 600 m (Ref. 168 ). Subtropical; 10°C - 25°C (Ref. 168 ); 60°N - 50°S, 180°W - 180°E

Distribution Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Point map | Introductions | Faunafri

Cosmopolitan in tropical and temperate waters of all oceans including the Mediterranean Sea but not at the surface between 10°N and 10°S. Western Pacific: range extend in a broad band between 40°N and 40°S (Ref. 9684 ). Often confused with juvenile Thunnus obesus which also have very long pectorals but with rounded tips. Highly migratory species.

Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: L m 85.2 , range 83 - ? cm
Max length : 140 cm FL male/unsexed; (Ref. 3669 ); common length : 100.0 cm FL male/unsexed; (Ref. 9684 ); max. published weight: 60.3 kg (Ref. 40637 ); max. reported age: 9 years (Ref. 72462 )

Short description Morphology | Morphometrics

Dorsal spines (total): 11 - 14; Dorsal soft rays (total): 12-16; Anal spines : 0; Anal soft rays : 11 - 16. Anterior spines much higher than posterior spines giving the fin a strongly concave outline. Interpelvic process small and bifid. Body with very small scales. Pectoral fins remarkably long, about 30% of fork length or longer in 50 cm or longer fish. Ventral surface of liver striated and the central lobe is largest.

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

An epipelagic and mesopelagic, oceanic species, abundant in surface waters of 15.6° to 19.4°C; deeper swimming, large albacore are found in waters of 13.5° to 25.2°C; temperatures as low as 9.5°C may be tolerated for short periods (Ref. 168 ). Known to concentrate along thermal discontinuities (Ref. 168 ). Form mixed schools with skipjack tuna ( Katsuwonus pelamis ), yellowfin tuna ( Thunnus albacares ) and bluefin tuna ( T. maccoyii ), schools may be associated with floating objects, including sargassum weeds (Ref. 168 ). Feed on fishes, crustaceans and squids. Eggs and larvae are pelagic (Ref. 6769 ). Sexual maturity reached at 90 cm (Ref. 36731 ). Highly appreciated and marketed fresh, smoked, deep frozen or canned. Eaten steamed, broiled, fried and microwaved (Ref. 9987 ). Also Ref. 1762, 1798, 1804. Angling: Largely caught offshore, where the waters are mild and blue. Albacore favor those areas where cooler water interfaces with warmer water. They are caught with live of dead baitfish such as mullet, sauries, squid, herring, anchovies, sardines, and other small fish. Albacore strike hard and make powerful runs (Ref. 84357 ).

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae

The sex ratio in catches is about 1:1 for immature individuals, but males predominate among mature fishes, which is possibly due to both differential mortality of sexes and differential growth rate after maturity.

Main reference Upload your references | References | Coordinator : Collette, Bruce B. | Collaborators

Collette, B.B. and C.E. Nauen , 1983. FAO Species Catalogue. Vol. 2. Scombrids of the world. An annotated and illustrated catalogue of tunas, mackerels, bonitos and related species known to date. Rome: FAO. FAO Fish. Synop. 125(2):137 p. (Ref. 168 )

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435 )

  Least Concern (LC)  ; Date assessed: 15 January 2021

CITES

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361 )

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

  Harmless





Human uses

Fisheries: highly commercial; gamefish: yes FAO - Fisheries: landings , species profile ; Publication: search | FIRMS - Stock assessments | FishSource | Sea Around Us

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Internet sources

AFORO (otoliths) | Aquatic Commons | BHL | Cloffa | BOLDSystems | Websites from users | Check FishWatcher | CISTI | Catalog of Fishes : genus , species | DiscoverLife | ECOTOX | FAO - Fisheries: landings , species profile ; Publication: search | Faunafri | Fishipedia | Fishtrace | GenBank: genome , nucleotide | GloBI | Google Books | Google Scholar | Google | IGFA World Record | MitoFish | National databases | Otolith Atlas of Taiwan Fishes | PubMed | Reef Life Survey | RFE Identification | Socotra Atlas | Tree of Life | Wikipedia: Go , Search | World Records Freshwater Fishing | Zoological Record

Estimates based on models

Preferred temperature (Ref. 123201 ): 8.8 - 21.2, mean 15.1 °C (based on 784 cells). Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82804 ):  PD 50 = 0.5039   [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high]. Bayesian length-weight: a=0.01738 (0.01428 - 0.02115), b=3.01 (2.97 - 3.05), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this species (Ref. 93245 ). Trophic level (Ref. 69278 ):  4.3   ±0.2 se; based on diet studies. Generation time: 6.4 (4.8 - 7.8) years. Estimated as median ln(3)/K based on 34 growth studies. Resilience (Ref. 120179 ):  Medium, minimum population doubling time 1.4 - 4.4 years (K=0.13-0.18; tm=4-6; tmax=10; Fec=2 million). Prior r = 0.52, 95% CL = 0.34 - 0.78, Based on 7 stock assessments. Fishing Vulnerability (Ref. 59153 ):  High to very high vulnerability (71 of 100). Climate Vulnerability (Ref. 125649 ):  Moderate vulnerability (42 of 100). Price category (Ref. 80766 ):   High . Nutrients (Ref. 124155 ):  Calcium = 31.2 [17.4, 55.3] mg/100g; Iron = 2.89 [1.17, 7.46] mg/100g; Protein = 23.8 [22.4, 25.1] %; Omega3 = 0.434 [0.280, 0.675] g/100g; Selenium = 38.3 [12.8, 114.7] μg/100g; VitaminA = 29.8 [4.6, 268.7] μg/100g; Zinc = 0.363 [0.203, 0.715] mg/100g (wet weight); based on nutrient studies.

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