Japanese Scad (Decapterus maruadsi) — identification, habitat & look-alikes

Japanese scad is a marine fish found in East Asian seas and around the Mariana Islands. It is blue-green above and silver below, with a white tip at the front of its second back fin and small fins just before its tail.

Appearance

Appearance: This streamlined scad is blue green above and silver below, with a dark spot near the gill cover. The front tip of its second back fin is white. It also has small finlets just before the tail.

Look-alikes

Mackerel scadDecapterus macarellus

Japanese scad is deeper bodied. Its reaches to the start of the second back fin, while the mackerel scad (Decapterus macarellus) has a shorter fin that ends below the first back fin.

Why they get mixed upBoth are silvery schooling scads reported from the Mariana Islands.

Where it lives

Typical habitats: Coastal water
Offshore waters near Guam
Range: Its range runs from East Asian seas to the Mariana Islands, including Guam. It can gather around floating fish attracting devices offshore.

Behavior

Diet: It feeds on small animals in open water and near the seafloor.

Name and classification

About the name: The English name Japanese scad is also used for Japanese horse mackerel (Trachurus japonicus). It is also called whitetipped mackerel scad, a name referring to the pale tip of its back fin.

Conservation

IUCN Red List: LCLeast ConcernLow risk of extinction

9 sources