Frigate mackerel

About this species

The frigate tuna, frigate mackerel or alagaduwa is a species of tuna, in the family Scombridae, found around the world in tropical oceans. The eastern Pacific population is now regarded as a separate species by some authorities, Auxis brachydorax.

Text from the Wikipedia article “Frigate tuna”, 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: 10 records
February: 11 records
March: 21 records
April: 47 records
May: 67 records
June: 16 records
July: 28 records
August: 26 records
September: 21 records
October: 7 records
November: 2 records
December: 9 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 3–237 m · Deepest record: 503 m

0–10 m: 8 records
10–20 m: 1 records
20–30 m: 1 records
30–40 m: 1 records
40–50 m: 3 records
50–60 m: 0 records
60–70 m: 2 records
70–80 m: 5 records
80–90 m: 1 records
90–100 m: 1 records
100–110 m: 2 records
110+ m: 7 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of 9–30 °C

8–10 °C: 1 records
10–12 °C: 0 records
12–14 °C: 0 records
14–16 °C: 0 records
16–18 °C: 1 records
18–20 °C: 2 records
20–22 °C: 6 records
22–24 °C: 25 records
24–26 °C: 101 records
26–28 °C: 486 records
28–30 °C: 236 records

Photos

(c) Shrumster, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA) · CC BY-SA · iNaturalist
(c) Navaneeth Sini George, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Karim Haddad, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Karim Haddad, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Ashwin A, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist

Names and classification

English: Frigate mackerel, Frigate tuna, Bullet Mackerel, frigate mackerel, frigate tuna, Frigate-tuna, Leadenall

Names in 4 more languages

German: Fregattmakrele, unechter Bonito
Spanish: Barrilete Negro, Barrileto Negro, Bonito, Botellita, Cabaña Negra, Melba, melva, Melva Aletilargo
French: auxide, Auxide
Japanese: Hirasôda, Soazo, Soda-gatsuo, ヒラソウダ

Other scientific names: Auxis hira, Auxis tapeinosoma, Auxis thazzard, Scomber taso, Scomber thazard

Similar species

Kawakawa
Euthynnus affinis
Dogtooth tuna
Gymnosarda unicolor
Couta
Grammatorcynus bicarinatus
Biturchturch
Grammatorcynus bilineatus

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).
11,408 open-data records from 1800 to 2024.
Species data updated October 26, 2026.