false scad
Caranx rhonchus Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 1817
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.
Open encyclopedia reference
The false scad (Caranx rhonchus), also known as the spotfin scad, ten-finned horse mackerel and yellow horse mackerel, is a species of medium-sized marine fish classified in the jack family Carangidae. The false scad is distributed throughout the tropical and temperate waters of the eastern Atlantic Ocean from Namibia in the south to Spain and throughout most of the Mediterranean in the north. The species has an atypical body form compared to other species of Caranx, and can be distinguished from these on its elongate 'scad-like' body shape alone. Distinguishing the species from members of Decapterus and Trachurus is more difficult, requiring detailed anatomical analysis. The false scad is known to grow to a length of 60 cm and a weight of 1 kg. The species lives both pelagically and demersally in continental shelf waters, ranging from depths of 15 to 200 m. It is a predatory fish, taking small fishes, crustaceans including euphausiids and shrimps, and cephalopods as its main prey, with significant dietary shifts as it ages.
Wikipedia contributors, False scad; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T02:52:45.932780+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Caranx rhonchus Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 1817
- Name authority
- Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 1817
- Common name
- false scad
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Teleostei
- Order
- Carangiformes
- Family
- Carangidae
- Genus
- Caranx
- 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.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- gigaclassActinopterygii
- superclassActinopteri
- classTeleostei
- orderCarangiformes
- familyCarangidae Rafinesque, 1815
- genusCaranx Lacepède, 1801
- speciesCaranx rhonchus Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 1817
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Caranx. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| yellow jackCaranx bartholomaei Cuvier, 1833 | CarangidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Pacific crevalle jackCaranx caninus Günther, 1867 | CarangidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| blacktip trevallyCaranx heberi (Bennett, 1830) | CarangidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| giant trevallyCaranx ignobilis (Forsskål, 1775) | CarangidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| brassy trevallyCaranx papuensis Alleyne & MacLeay, 1877 | CarangidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| tille trevallyCaranx tille Cuvier, 1833 | CarangidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| cocineroCaranx vinctus Jordan & Gilbert, 1882 | CarangidaeChordata | 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 |
|---|---|
| Decapterus rhonchus (Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 1817) (Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 1817) | synonym |
| Decapterus angolensis (Fowler, 1919) (Fowler, 1919) | synonym |
| Caranx angolensis Fowler, 1919 Fowler, 1919 | synonym |
| Caranx rhoncus Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 1817 Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 1817 | synonym |
| Decapterus ronchus (Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 1817) (Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 1817) | synonym |
| Caranx ronchus Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 1817 Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 1817 | 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.
- Geoffroy St. Hilaire, E. (1817). Poissons du Nil, de la mer Rouge et de la Méditerranée. In: Description de l’Egypte Ou Recueil Des Observations et Des Recherches Qui Ont Été Faites En Égypte Pendant L’expedition de l’Armée Français, Publié Par Les Ordres de Sa Majesté-L’Empereur Napoléon Le Grand. (Imprimerie Impériale). Paris. Histoire Natu, v. 1 (part 1). Pls. 18–27. 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:R2SR. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.