Golden trevally

Gnathanodon speciosus

Fish
IUCN: Least concern

Usual depth5–82 m
Water temperature22–30 °C
Best monthsJanuary, May, and November
How commonOccasional

About this species

The golden trevally, also known as the golden kingfish, banded trevally or king trevally, is a species of large marine fish classified in the jack and horse mackerel family Carangidae, and the only member of the monospecific genus Gnathanodon. The golden trevally is widely distributed throughout the tropical and subtropical waters of the Indian and Pacific Oceans, ranging from South Africa in the west to Central America in the east, extending to Japan in the north and Australia in the south. The species predominantly occupies inshore waters where it inhabits both reef and sandy substrates.

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

Where and when

Where it has been recorded

Worldwide

Loading the map

Best months

Worldwide (open data)

January: 225 records
February: 141 records
March: 141 records
April: 166 records
May: 183 records
June: 24 records
July: 19 records
August: 146 records
September: 123 records
October: 155 records
November: 214 records
December: 164 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 5–82 m · Deepest record: 565 m

0–10 m: 69 records
10–20 m: 74 records
20–30 m: 77 records
30–40 m: 93 records
40–50 m: 52 records
50–60 m: 27 records
60–70 m: 10 records
70–80 m: 43 records
80–90 m: 61 records
90–100 m: 19 records
100–110 m: 4 records
110+ m: 2 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of 22–30 °C

20–22 °C: 1 records
22–24 °C: 10 records
24–26 °C: 247 records
26–28 °C: 82 records
28–30 °C: 37 records

Names and classification

English: Golden trevally, Banded Trevally, Golden Jack, Golden Jack, Golden trevally, Golden Kingfish, Golden Toothless Trevally, golden trevally, Golden Trevally, King Trevally, yellow jack

Names in 7 more languages

German: Königsmakrele
Spanish: jurel dorado, mojarra dorada
Filipino: Talakitok
French: Belle carangue, Carangue jaune, Carangue d'or, Carangue dorée, Carangue dorée, Carangue jaune, Carangue Royale, Carangue royale, Carangue royale jaune, Carangue royale jaune
Japanese: Koganeshimaaji, コガネシマアジ
Thai: ปลาตะคองเหลือง
Simplified Chinese: 無齒鰺, 黃鸝無齒鰺

Other scientific names: Caranx cives, Caranx edentulus, Caranx panamensis, Caranx speciosus, Gnathandon speciosus, Gnathanodon specious, Gnathodon speciosus, Gnathonodon speciosus, Scomber speciosus

Similar species

Giant trevally
Caranx ignobilis
Bluefin trevally
Caranx melampygus
Bigeye trevally
Caranx sexfasciatus
Mackerel scad
Decapterus macarellus
Indian scad
Decapterus russelli
Rainbow runner
Elagatis bipinnulata

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).
2,476 open-data records from 1889 to 2024.

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