Longfin crevalle jack

Longfin crevalle jack
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Carangiformes
Family:	Carangidae
Genus:	Caranx
Species:	C. fischeri
Binomial name
Caranx fischeri Smith-Vaniz & K. E. Carpenter, 2007
Approximate range of the longfin crevalle jack. Current range indicated in dark blue, known historical range in light blue

The longfin crevalle jack (Caranx fischeri) is a recently described species of large marine fish classified in the jack family, Carangidae. It inhabits the subtropical waters of the east Atlantic Ocean, ranging along the African coast from Mauritania south at least to Moçamedes in southern Angola, with the species historically present in the Mediterranean Sea. It is an inshore species, known to occasionally penetrate estuaries, possibly to spawn. The species is very similar to the crevalle jack, Caranx hippos, and is separated by its extended dorsal and anal fin lobes as well as more detailed anatomical features including dorsal and anal fin ray counts. The fish is known to reach 127 cm in length and 20.9 kg in weight. The longfin crevalle jack is a predatory fish, taking small fish as its main prey. Due to longstanding confusion between C. fischeri and C. hippos, the importance of each species to African fisheries is poorly understood, with a known combined catch in this region of between 2,233 and 10,054 tonnes per year in 1995–2004. Like its close relatives, the species is considered a powerful gamefish and highly sought after, although their coarse flesh makes for relatively poor quality food.