Oceanic bonito
Katsuwonus pelamis
- Usual depth21–202 m
- Water temperature14–29 °C
- Best monthsJanuary, March, and April
- How commonCommon
Photo credit: (c) Michel Frisch, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
About this species
The skipjack tuna is a perciform fish in the tuna family, Scombridae, and is the only member of the genus Katsuwonus. It is a cosmopolitan pelagic fish found in tropical and warm-temperate waters. Skipjack tuna can grow up to 1.1 m in length, and is a very important species for fisheries.
Text from the Wikipedia article “Skipjack 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: 327 records
- February: 306 records
- March: 433 records
- April: 377 records
- May: 227 records
- June: 152 records
- July: 130 records
- August: 160 records
- September: 98 records
- October: 121 records
- November: 139 records
- December: 155 records
Depth and water temperature
Depth
Mostly recorded at 21–202 m · Deepest record: 1,001.7 m
Water temperature
Recorded in surface water of 14–29 °C
Photos
(c) cello caruso-turiello, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) James H, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) Srichakra Pranav Tamarapalli, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA) · CC BY-SA · iNaturalist 
(c) portulaca, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) François Dunoyer, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
no rights reserved · CC0 1.0 · iNaturalist
Names and classification
- English
- Oceanic bonito, Skipjack tuna, Aku, Arctic bonito, Atlantic bonito, oceanic bonito, Oceanic Skipjack, Skipjack, skipjack tuna, Skipjack Tuna, Skipjack tuna, Oceanic Bonito, Skipper, Stripebellied Bonito, Stripe-bellied Tunny, Striped bellied bonito, Striped bellied tunny, Striped bonito, Stripey, Stripy, Tuna links
Names in 5 more languages
- German
- bauchstreifiger Bonito, Bauchstreifiger bonito, echter Bonito, Echter Bonito, Gestreifter thunfisch, Thunfisch, Thunfischwurst, Thunfischwürstchen, Thunfish, Tunfischwurst
- Spanish
- Atún, Atún de Altura, Atun Listado, Barrilete, barrilete listado, Bonita, Bonito de Altura, Bonito del Sur, Bonito de Veintre Rayado, Bonitol, Bonito Oceánico, Cachorreta, Cachureta, Cachurreta, Descargamento, Lampo, listado, Listado, Llampua, Merma, Palomida, Picosa, Rayada
- Filipino
- Tambakol, Tulingan
- French
- Bonite a ventre raye, bonite à ventre rayé, Bonite à ventre rayé, Bonite folle, Bonite folle, Bonite à ventre rayé, Bonite ventre rayé, Bonitou, Bounicou, listao, Listao, thonine à ventre rayé, Ton Rayé
- Japanese
- Katsuo, Nagakoban, Namaribushi, Tsuna Hamu, カツオ
Other scientific names: Euthynnus pelamis, Euthynnus pelamys, Gymnosarda pelamis, Gymnosarda pelamys, Katsowonus pelamis, Katsuwinus pelamis, Katsuwonis pelamis, Katsuwonnus pelamis, Katsuwonus pelamsi, Katsuwonus pelamys, Katsuwonus vagans, Katuswonis pelamis, Orcynus pelamis, Orcynus pelamys, Scomber pelamides, Scomber pelamis, Scomber pelamys, Thinnus pelamis, Thunnus pelamys, Thynnus pelamis, Thynnus pelamys, Thynnus vagans
Similar species
WahooAcanthocybium solandri
BonitoAuxis rochei
Frigate mackerelAuxis thazard
Narrow-barred Spanish mackerelScomberomorus commerson
Allison tunaThunnus albacares
Slender tunaAllothunnus fallai
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).
- 23,660 open-data records from 1758 to 2024.
- Species data updated November 3, 2026.
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