Barracuda

Barracuda
Temporal range: Mid Cretaceous to Present
Great barracuda, Sphyraena barracuda, with prey
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Phylum:
Class:
Order:
Family:
Sphyraenidae
Genus:
Sphyraena

Klein, 1778
Type species
Sphyraena sphyraena
Linnaeus, 1758
Woman with a barracuda in Madagascar

A barracuda is a ray finned-fish that is about 6 feet in length. It is found in tropical and subtropical oceans worldwide.

It is of the genus Sphyraena, the only genus in the family Sphyraenidae. It is famous for its intimidating and ferocious behavior. It is the reason that divers take off any shiny or glittery bracelets in the water. They eat fish that are silver in color, which may cause them to attack someone if they are wearing any shimmering objects.

These fish usually stay near the top of the water around sea grass and coral reefs.

Description

Barracudas have long bodies and sharp teeth like a piranha. Their gill covers are covered with small scales and they have far away dorsal fins. They have a large swim bladder.

Species list

Extant species

Barracudas have 29 extant species:

Sphyraena bolcensis

Extinct species

There are also extinct species:

European barracuda

How they attack prey

These ferocious creatures attack prey by surprising them. They also release short bursts of speed up to 27 mph (43 km/h).

Human interactions

Barracudas sometimes attack people, especially when they get shiny jewelry. Luckily, these attacks are rare and are usually caused by poor visibility.

References

  1. "Barracuda | fish". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 2019-05-03.
  2. "Barracuda Fish Facts". AtlanticPanic.
  3. "Jumping barracuda injures kayaker off Florida Keys". Reuters.
  4. Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.) (2019). "Sphyraena acutipinnis" in FishBase. August 2019 version.
Great barracuda

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