Leatherjacket fish

For the fish family known as leatherjackets, see filefish.

Leatherjacket fish
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Carangiformes
Family:	Carangidae
Genus:	Oligoplites
Species:	O. saurus
Binomial name
Oligoplites saurus (Bloch & J. G. Schneider, 1801)
Synonyms
List Scomber saurus Bloch & Schneider, 1801 Oligoplites inornatus Gill, 1863 Chorinemus occidentalis Günther, 1860 Centronotus argenteus Lacépède, 1801 Chorinemus lanceolatus Girard, 1858 Chorinemus quiebra Cuvier, 1832 Lichia quiebra (Cuvier, 1832) Oligoplites rathbuni Miranda Ribeiro, 1915 Chorinemus saltans Cuvier, 1832

The leatherjacket fish (Oligoplites saurus), also known as leather jack, is a species of jack in the family Carangidae. Leather jack may also refer to other members of the Carangidae, such as the pilot fish. The largest are about a foot long.

Distribution

There are two subspecies of Oligoplites saurus. The nominate subspecies O.s. saurus is distributed in the western Atlantic Ocean from Chatham, Massachusetts south along the U.S. coast, throughout the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea, and along the South American coast to Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. The other subspecies O. s. inornatus is found in the eastern Pacific Ocean from southern Baja California, much of the Gulf of California to Ecuador, including the Galapagos and Malpelo Islands.

Feeding

It voraciously devours small fish and shrimp, often in company with larger predatory species. Leatherjackets feed on small fish including the silver perch.

As food

Traditionally, the leather jacket has not been eaten, but recently, with large-scale farming of the fish, it has become common at market. The fish has a mild, oily taste similar to Spanish mackerel or bluefish.

It has occasionally been the prey to blue swimmer crab, as juvenile fish in sea grass beds.

External links

• Fish and Wildlife Service
• Smithsonian Marine Station
• FishBase