Student Stuff
Yellowtail Scad
Trachurus novaezelandiae Richardson, 1843
A school of Yellowtail Scad at 8m depth, Shark Point, New South Wales.
The Yellowtail Scad is a common schooling species of Australia's southern marine waters from Wide Bay, Queensland to north-west Cape, Western Australia. It lives in a range of habitats from the surface to 500m, and is often caught from wharves by anglers.
This species is recognised by its silvery colour, tinged with green or brown dorsally, and yellow tail. It has a distinct dark spot on the rear margin of the operculum.
The Yellowtail Scad grows to 50cm in length but is usually seen at about 30cm. It has enlarged scales, called scutes along the entire lateral line. The pectoral fin is sickle-shaped, or falcate, the caudal peduncle is very shallow and the tail is strongly forked.
This species is also known as the Yellowtail, Yellowtail Horse Mackerel and Southern Yellowtail Scad.
View a low resolution movie clip (77k) of this species. Go to the movies page for high and low resolution versions.
Further reading
- Gomon, M.F. in Gomon, M.F, C.J.M. Glover & 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. 1993. Coastal Fishes of South-Eastern Australia. Crawford House Press. Pp. 437.
- Kuiter, R.H. 1996. Guide to Sea Fishes of Australia. New Holland. Pp. 433.
