Fringefin Trevally

The fringefin trevally is a relatively small species of carangid: reaching a maximum recorded length of 40 cm (16 in), it is more commonly encountered at lengths less than 25 cm. The species has an oval-shaped body with the dorsal and ventral profiles equally convex. The fringefin trevally's dentition is one of the features that allows it to be distinguished from the scads of the genus Alepes, having a single row of moderately enlarged, conical teeth on the lower jaw and an outer row of conical teeth on the upper jaw bordered by inner bands of small, but not villiform, sharply pointed teeth. A well developed adipose eyelid is present on the posterior half of the eye, similar to the members of Alepes. The dorsal fin is in two parts; the first having eight spines and the second one spine and 20 to 26 soft rays. The anal fin has two detached spines followed by 18 to 20 soft rays. The males of the species have all their soft dorsal and anal fins extended into distinctive filaments, with the longest filaments at the front of the second dorsal fin. The second dorsal and anal fins of both sexes have a scaly basal sheath. The lateral line has a moderate anterior arch, with 33 to 41 scales in the curved section and no to 9 scales and 38 to 49 scutes on the straight section. …

The fringefin trevally is distributed through a small area of the Indo-Pacific, ranging from northern Australia to Papua New Guinea and West Papua in Indonesia. Around Australia, the species is known from Port Hedland in Western Australian around to Gladstone in Queensland. The fringefin trevally is predominantly an inshore species, rarely found in waters greater than 30 m deep. The species commonly enters estuaries, but is restricted to the lower reaches of these environments. Studies in northern Australia suggest the species prefer turbid waters, with trawl catches increasing in more turbid waters. Fringefin trevally have also been recorded over seagrass habitats.