Bonito

Open encyclopedia reference

The bullet tuna (Auxis rochei) is a species of tuna, in the family Scombridae, found circumglobally in tropical oceans, including the Mediterranean Sea, in open surface waters to depths of 50 m (164 ft). The population of bullet tuna in the Eastern Pacific was classified as a subspecies of A. rochei, A. rochei eudorax, but some authorities regard this as a valid species Auxis eudorax. Its maximum length is 50 centimetres (20 in).

Sometimes called bullet mackerel, the bullet tuna is a comparatively small and slender tuna. It has a triangular first dorsal fin, widely separated from the second dorsal fin, which, like the anal and pectoral fins, is relatively small. There are the usual finlets of the tuna. There is a small corselet of small scales around the pectoral region of the body.

Bullet tunas are blue-black on the back with a pattern of zig-zag dark markings on the upper hind body, and silver below. The fins are dark grey.

They feed on small fish, squid, planktonic crustaceans, and stomatopod larvae.

Wikipedia contributors, Bullet tuna; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T02:24:13.820666+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.

Identity & source status

Scientific name

Auxis rochei (Risso, 1810)

Name authority

(Risso, 1810)

Common name

Bonito

Rank

species

Accepted status

accepted

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Chordata

Class

Teleostei

Order

Scombriformes

Family

Scombridae

Genus

Auxis

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. genusAuxis Cuvier, 1829
14. speciesAuxis rochei (Risso, 1810)

Close classified relatives

These entries share the source’s genus, Auxis. 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=127015 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:K27Z. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.