thunnus tonggol (Bleeker, 1851)

English Name: Longtail tuna
Family: SCOMBRIDAE
Local Name: Nigoo dhigu kanneli
Order: Perciformes
Size: Max. 1.3 m
Specimen: MRS/P0494/97

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Distinctive Characters: A medium-sized tuna species, deepest near middle of first dorsal fin base. Gill rakers few, 19-27 on the first arch. Pectoral fin moderately long with 30-35 rays. Ventral surface of liver not striated; right lobe of liver much longer than other two. Swimbladder absent or rudimentary.

Colour: Back dark blue or black. Lower sides and belly silvery white with colourless elongate oval spots arranged in horizontal rows. Dorsal, pectoral and pelvic fins blackish.

Habitat and Biology: Epipelagic and neritic. Avoids areas with reduced salinity and turbid waters. Forms schools of varying size. Opportunistic feeder, feeding on cephalopods, crustaceans and fish.

Distribution: Indo-West Pacific

Remarks: Thunnus tonggol is a neritic species, common around the coasts of India. It is extremely rare in Maldivian waters. In fact only one specimen has been positively recorded from the Maldives. It was caught by a team from the Marine Research Section while carrying out tuna tagging in the One-and-a-half Degree Channel in February 1994. Earlier records of it from Maldives appear to be in error.