Trevally

ID points

• Deep, flattened body; slender tail base with hard keeled scutes
• Steep forehead, large eyes, mouth reaching back past the eye
• Silvery grey; charges fish schools at high speed in packs

Basics

Family

Carangidae

Length

40–120 cm

Depth

0-100 m

Regions

Open ocean

Distribution

Upper and middle waters of tropical and subtropical seas

Habitat

Reef edges and open coastal water

Diet

Small fish, crustaceans

Easily confused with

TunaSpindle-shaped body; very slender tail base with a lateral keelBarracudaLong spear-like body with a bright silvery sheenBlacktip Reef SharkEvery fin tip carries a bold black blotch

Fun fact

Thousands of bigeye trevally mass into a giant spiralling tornado of fish that turns as one body, leaving a predator with nowhere to start.