Atlantic bluefin tuna

Open encyclopedia reference

The Atlantic bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus) is a species of tuna in the family Scombridae. It is variously known as the northern bluefin tuna (mainly when including Pacific bluefin as a subspecies), giant bluefin tuna (for individuals exceeding 150 kg [330 lb]), and formerly as the tunny. Atlantic bluefins are native to both the western and eastern Atlantic Ocean, as well as the Mediterranean Sea. They have become regionally extinct in the Black Sea. The Atlantic bluefin tuna is a close relative of one of the other two bluefin tuna species, the Pacific bluefin tuna. The southern bluefin tuna, on the other hand, is more closely related to other tuna species such as yellowfin tuna and bigeye tuna, and the similarities between the southern and northern species are due to convergent evolution. Atlantic bluefin tuna have been recorded at up to 680 kg (1,500 lb) in weight, and rival the black marlin, blue marlin, and swordfish as one of the largest Percomorpha (though these species are vastly outweighed by the enormous Molidae species).

Wikipedia contributors, Atlantic bluefin tuna; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T09:35:24.355800+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.

Identity & source status

Scientific name

Thunnus thynnus (Linnaeus, 1758)

Name authority

(Linnaeus, 1758)

Common name

Atlantic bluefin tuna

Rank

species

Accepted status

accepted

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Chordata

Class

Teleostei

Order

Scombriformes

Family

Scombridae

Genus

Thunnus

Extinction status

Not supplied by this source

Source habitat flags: Marine: yes · Freshwater: no · 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.

1. domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
2. kingdomAnimalia
3. phylumChordata
4. subphylumVertebrata
5. infraphylumGnathostomata
6. parvphylumOsteichthyes
7. gigaclassActinopterygii
8. superclassActinopteri
9. classTeleostei
10. orderScombriformes
11. familyScombridae Rafinesque, 1815
12. subfamilyScombrinae Rafinesque, 1815
13. genusThunnus South, 1845
14. speciesThunnus thynnus (Linnaeus, 1758)

Close classified relatives

These entries share the source’s genus, Thunnus. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.

Browse 47 records assigned to Scombridae.

Names & synonyms

Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.

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.

1. https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=127029 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:56P7Q. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.