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Herring scad

Alepes vari

  • Fish
  • IUCN: Least concern
  • Usual depth5–34 m
  • Water temperature22–29 °C
  • Best monthsMay and June
  • How commonOccasional
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Photo credit: (c) portioid, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by portioid · CC BY · iNaturalist

About this species

The herring scad, is a common species of tropical marine fish in the jack family Carangidae. The species inhabits the surface waters of coastal regions throughout the Indo-West Pacific region, feeding on a variety of crustaceans and small fishes. It is the largest fish of the scad genus Alepes, growing to a recorded length of 56 cm. The herring scad is identified among the genus Alepes by its more numerous and smaller scutes and the number of gill rakers on the first arch. It is of minor importance to fisheries throughout its range.

Text from the Wikipedia article “Herring scad”, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article

Where and when

Where it has been recorded

Worldwide

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Best months

Worldwide (open data)

  • January: 11 records
  • February: 14 records
  • March: 13 records
  • April: 16 records
  • May: 50 records
  • June: 49 records
  • July: 16 records
  • August: 8 records
  • September: 23 records
  • October: 17 records
  • November: 17 records
  • December: 8 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 5–34 m · Deepest record: 89 m

  • 0–10 m: 20 records
  • 10–20 m: 2 records
  • 20–30 m: 2 records
  • 30–40 m: 3 records
  • 40–50 m: 1 records
  • 50–60 m: 0 records
  • 60–70 m: 0 records
  • 70–80 m: 1 records
  • 80–90 m: 1 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of 22–29 °C

  • 22–24 °C: 3 records
  • 24–26 °C: 34 records
  • 26–28 °C: 20 records
  • 28–30 °C: 52 records

Names and classification

English
Herring scad, herring scad, Trevally Scad
Names in 6 more languages
Spanish
Jurel Arenque
Filipino
Talakitok
French
Selar harengule, Sélar harengule
Japanese
Mabutashimaaji, マブタシマアジ
Thai
ปลาสีกุนรากชาย
Simplified Chinese
大尾葉鰺, 大尾鰺, 范氏副葉鰺

Other scientific names: Alepes glabra, Alepes macrurus, Caranx macrurus, Caranx vari, Selar macrurus

Similar species

Sources and credits

Names and taxonomy: WoRMS (CC BY 4.0) and the GBIF Backbone (CC BY 4.0). Photos: iNaturalist observers, each under the licence shown (CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA).

  • Depth, temperature, months and maps: records from OBIS and GBIF under CC0 or CC BY.
  • Descriptions: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA, each linked to its article.
  • Conservation status as published by GBIF (IUCN Red List).
  • 201 open-data records from 1833 to 2023.
  • Species data updated October 26, 2026.

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