Japanese horse mackerel

Open encyclopedia reference

The Japanese jack mackerel (Trachurus japonicus), also known as the Japanese horse mackerel or Japanese scad, is a species named after its resemblance to mackerel but which is in the family Carangidae, the jacks, pompanos, trevallies and scads. Their maximum reported length is 50 cm (20 in) with a common length of 35 cm (14 in). They have a maximum reported weight of 0.66 kg (1.5 lb) and a maximum reported age of 12 years. They are found around the coast of Japan, except Okinawa Island, usually on sandy bottoms of 50–275 m (164–902 ft) deep. They feed mainly on small crustaceans such as copepods, as well as shrimp and small fish. They are similar to the yellowtail horse mackerel around New Zealand and Australia, apart from having more gill rakers and larger eyes. The Japanese name for the horse mackerel is aji (あじ) and by default generally implies the species Trachurus japonicus, which can be more specifically referred to as ma-aji (まあじ; lit. 'true aji').

Wikipedia contributors, Japanese jack mackerel; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T10:40:15.685333+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.

Identity & source status

Scientific name

Trachurus japonicus (Temminck & Schlegel, 1844)

Name authority

(Temminck & Schlegel, 1844)

Common name

Japanese horse mackerel

Rank

species

Accepted status

accepted

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Chordata

Class

Teleostei

Order

Carangiformes

Family

Carangidae

Genus

Trachurus

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. orderCarangiformes
11. familyCarangidae Rafinesque, 1815
12. genusTrachurus Rafinesque, 1810
13. speciesTrachurus japonicus (Temminck & Schlegel, 1844)

Close classified relatives

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

Browse 111 records assigned to Carangidae.

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=273302 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. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.

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:57PKM. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.