Trevally - Longrakered

FULL COLOUR X-RAY

Also known as:

Cale-cale trevally

Heavy jawed kingfish

Madfish

Common Group Name:

Trevallies

Family Name:

Carangidae

Genus Name:

Ulula

Species Name:

Ulula mentalis

Dispatch Method:

Beware of the sharp scutes on the tail when handling long rakered trevally. The eating qualities of these fish can be greatly improved if they are killed immediately by iki jime or a firm knock to the head before placing them in an ice slurry after bleeding.

Fish Description:

This species has a laterally compressed body, metallic blue grey above with silvery sides, together with an intense mouth with a lower jaw extending forward beyond the upper jaw. Long gill rakers are present along the side of the tongue.
Juveniles have 7-8 dark bands along the flanks, and the inside is silvery to white.

Fish Distribution:

This species occurs throughout the tropical Indo-Pacific region from the Red Sea and Gulf of Oman and the east African coast, as far east as Hong Kong, Taiwan and northern Australia.
Juveniles may enter estuaries while adults frequent coastal waters around inshore rocky and coral reefs.

Fish Size Common Length:

Common between 30-40 cm (12-16 inches) long, maximum size around 100 cm (3 feet 4 inches) and 8 kg (18 pounds).

For assistance with identifying fishes, see fishesofaustralia.net.au. For information on size and bag limits, check out the website of your State Fisheries Department.
We thank fishesofaustralia.net.au and Australia's various Fisheries Departments for some of the thumbnail images used to assist with fish identification on this website and its applications, as licensed for use under Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Australia. Thanks also to Michigan State University and Georgia Aquarium for generous donation of xrays of some US fish species.