Atlantic mackerel

Description

The Atlantic mackerel has an elongate,fusiform body with a long,pointed snout.The eyes are large and covered by an adipose eyelid,while the teeth are small,sharp,and conical.Scales are also small,with the exceptions of those immediately posterior to the head and around the pectoral fins.These small scales give the Atlantic mackerel a velvet-like feel.The two dorsal fins are large and spaced far apart.The second dorsal fin is typically followed by 5 dorsal finlets,though it can have 4 or 6.The anal fin,which originates slightly behind the second dorsal fin,is similar to it in size and shape and is also succeeded by 5 finlets.The fish's body tapers to a slim caudal peduncle,the end of the fish to which the short but broad tail fin is attached.Its body is steel-blue dorsally with wavy black lines running perpendicular to the fish's length.The rest of its body is silvery-white to yellow and may have darker splotches.It can reach sizes of up to 60 cm (24 in) and has a common length of 30 cm (12 in).Its maximum published weight is 3.4 kg (7.5 lb)