CARANGIDAE


Selar boops, 19.5 cm SL
(photo by Seishi Kimura)


Selar boops
(Cuvier, 1833)
Oxeye Scad

D VIII + I, 23-25; A II + I, 19-21; GR 8-12 + 25-29; V 10+14.

Body compressed and elongated. Adipose eyelid well developed and completely covering eye except for a vertical slit centered on pupil. Shoulder girdle (cleithrum) margin with upper (small) and lower (large) papillae. Dorsal and anal fins without detached finlets. Straight part of lateral line almost entirely covered by relatively large scutes (37-46), longer than curved part. Color: body blue-green dorsally, silvery white ventrally, with a narrow yellow longitudinal stripe from border of opercle to caudal peduncle. Size: maximum length about 25 cm FL. Distribution: Indo-West Pacific, from Pakistan to Solomon Is.; East Atlantic (Portugal). Remarks: feeds mainly on planktonic or benthic crustaceans. Marketed fresh, dried or salted.