Blackfin Scad

The blackfin scad has a body profile very similar to that of the other round scads of the genus Alepes, in particular to Alepes apercna, but can be distinguished quite easily by the prominent black colouration of the dorsal fin. The species has a tendency, like other carangids, to become more elongated with age, thus changing their body proportions slightly. It has an oblong, compressed body with dorsal and ventral profiles that are nearly equally convex in shape. The nose somewhat blunter than others in the genus, and has a mouth full of numerous comb like teeth. Like other members of Alepes, it has an adipose eyelid which is well developed only on the posterior section of the eye. The dorsal fin is split into two sections like in all of the Carangidae, the first with 7 or 8 spines and the second with one spine followed by 23 to 26 soft rays. The anal fin consists of two detached spines followed by a single spine and 18 to 21 soft rays, with both the anal and dorsal fins have a low profile. The pectoral fin is falcate and extends to beyond the junction of the curved and straight sections of the lateral line. The lateral line itself is strongly arched anteriorally, with the curved and straight sections of the line intersecting just after the commencement of the spinous dorsal fin. …

The blackfin scad is distributed throughout parts of the tropical and subtropical Indo-Pacific region. The species has been recorded as far west as the Persian Gulf (Kuwait) and has a seemingly sparse distribution in the western Indian Ocean up to India and Sri Lanka. It is common around the Asian coast, Malaysia, Thailand, Philippines and as far south as Indonesia. The northernmost captures have been made in Okinawa, Japan and a specimen has also been collected off Taiwan. The species frequents inshore habitats, not found in the open ocean.