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Australian Bonito
Sarda australis (Macleay, 1881)
An Australian Bonito caught on hook and line by G. Atkinson at Cabbage Tree Island, east of Port Stephens, New South Wales, May 2004. Note that the stripes on the lower side have faded. View larger image. Photo: D. & L. Atkinson.
The Australian Bonito has a fusiform body and a forked caudal fin. There are three keels on the caudal peduncle and two dorsal fins separated by a small gap. There are dark stripes on the upper and lower sides of the body.
It grows to about 1 m in length.
This species is usually seen swimming in schools. It feeds on smaller fishes.
The Australian Bonito occurs in temperate marine waters of Australia and New Zealand.
In Australia it is known from southern Queensland to southern Victoria and eastern Tasmania.
View a map of the collecting localities of specimens in the Australian Museum Fish Collection.
The Australian Bonito is also known as the Bunny, Common Bonito, Horse Mackerel, Little Bonito, Skipjack, and Striped Bonito.
Related links
- View the Mackerels, Tunas and Gemfishes list
Further reading
- Collette, B.B. & 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. FAO Fish. Synop. No. 125: i-vii + 1-137.
- Gomon, M.F. & E.M. Robertson. in Gomon, M.F., Glover, C.J.M. & R.H. Kuiter (Eds). 1994. The Fishes of Australia's South Coast. State Print, Adelaide. Pp. 992.
- Hutchins, B. & R. Swainston. 1986. Sea Fishes of Southern Australia. Complete Field Guide for Anglers and Divers. Swainston Publishing. Pp. 180.
- Kuiter, R.H. 2000. Coastal Fishes of South-eastern Australia. Gary Allen. Pp. 437.
