tarpon
Megalops atlanticus Valenciennes, 1847
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Megalops atlanticus
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Open encyclopedia reference
The Atlantic tarpon (Megalops atlanticus) is a ray-finned fish that inhabits coastal waters, estuaries, lagoons, and rivers. It is also known as the silver king. It is found in the Atlantic Ocean, typically in tropical and subtropical regions, though it has been reported as far north as Nova Scotia and the Atlantic coast of southern France, and as far south as Argentina. As with all elopiformes, it spawns at sea. Its diet includes small fish and crustaceans.
The tarpon has a reputation for great aerobatics, attaining astonishing size, and having impressive armored scales. It is generally considered to be of poor food quality, but it is highly valued as a game fish by recreational fishermen.
Wikipedia contributors, Atlantic tarpon; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T02:26:29.810226+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Megalops atlanticus Valenciennes, 1847
- Name authority
- Valenciennes, 1847
- Common name
- tarpon
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Teleostei
- Order
- Elopiformes
- Family
- Megalopidae
- Genus
- Megalops
- Extinction status
- Not supplied by this source
Source habitat flags: Marine: yes · Freshwater: yes · Terrestrial: no. These do not form a complete habitat description.
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- gigaclassActinopterygii
- superclassActinopteri
- classTeleostei
- orderElopiformes
- familyMegalopidae Jordan & Gilbert, 1883
- genusMegalops Lacepède, 1803
- speciesMegalops atlanticus Valenciennes, 1847
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Megalops. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Indo-Pacific tarponMegalops cyprinoides (Broussonet, 1782) | MegalopidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Megalops atlantica Valenciennes, 1847 Valenciennes, 1847 | synonym |
| Megalops elongatus Girard, 1859 Girard, 1859 | synonym |
| Tarpon atlanticus (Valenciennes, 1847) (Valenciennes, 1847) | synonym |
| Megalops thrissoides Bloch & Schneider, 1873 Bloch & Schneider, 1873 | synonym |
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- Cuvier, G., & Valenciennes, A. (1847). Histoire naturelle des poissons. Tome dix-neuvième. Suite du livre dix-neuvième. Brochets ou Lucioïdes. Livre vingtième. De quelques familles de Malacoptérygiens, intermédiaires entre les Brochets et les Clupes. 19: i–xix + 1–544 + 6 pp. Pls. 554–590. Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:3YVJ9. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.