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Yellowtail barracuda (Sphyraena flavicauda): the larger of the two Suez barracudas — in the Mediterranean since 1992, rare and easily confused

The eastern Mediterranean is now home to two small barracudas that arrived through the Suez Canal. The more common one is *Sphyraena chrysotaenia*. The other, larger and rarer one is *Sphyraena flavicauda* — the yellowtail barracuda in English; French bécune à queue jaune, Italian barracuda dalla coda gialla, Portuguese barracuda-de-cauda-amarela, Finnish keltapyrstöbarrakuda, Japanese タイワンカマス (GBIF, Italian Wikipedia). In German, GBIF lists the name Gelbschwanz-Barrakuda. Here is how to recognise it, where it has turned up so far, how it lives — and why even the specialist literature trips over its own features.

Origin: from the Red Sea to Samoa

It was described by Eduard Rüppell in 1838 (FishBase, English Wikipedia). Its home is the tropical Indo-Pacific: from the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf east to Samoa, north to the Ryukyu Islands and south to the Great Barrier Reef; along the coast of East Africa, according to the CIESM Atlas, it reaches south to Durban. FishBase adds a caveat: its exact distribution is uncertain because it is confused with the related species *Sphyraena obtusata*. The English Wikipedia gives *Sphyraena langsar* and *Sphyraenella flavicauda* as synonyms.

How to recognise it

  • Typical barracuda body. Very elongated, with a large head slightly flattened on top, a pointed snout, a long jaw and a projecting lower jaw. At the front of the upper jaw sit several fang-like teeth, and at the tip of the lower jaw a single canine (CIESM Atlas).
  • Two widely separated dorsal fins. The first has five spines, the first of which is the longest. The second dorsal fin begins just ahead of the anal fin (CIESM Atlas, English Wikipedia).
  • Pelvic fin below the tip of the pectoral fin. This is the most important feature separating it from the Mediterranean’s two large native barracudas, *S. sphyraena* and *S. viridensis*: in those, the pelvic fin sits behind the tip of the pectoral fin (CIESM Atlas).
  • Yellow tail with a black margin. The caudal fin is yellow and edged in black at the top, bottom and rear. The back is grey, the belly white, and the flanks often have a yellowish-grey tinge (CIESM Atlas). FishBase and the Italian Wikipedia also describe two brown to brownish-yellow longitudinal stripes that may fade in older fish.
  • Larger than its Suez relative. According to the CIESM Atlas, 20–45 cm is usual, 60 cm the maximum — *S. chrysotaenia* stays at 30 to 35 cm at most. So a large fish with a yellow tail is more likely *S. flavicauda*; with small fish, size is no help.
  • Meristics for the meticulous: 72–90 scales along the lateral line, 14 rays in the pectoral fin, only 2 gill rakers (CIESM Atlas).

The feature trap: the Atlas contradicts itself

To separate it from *S. chrysotaenia*, the CIESM Atlas uses the length of the pectoral fin. The *S. flavicauda* sheet says the tip of the pectoral fin does not reach the vertical below the origin of the first dorsal fin — whereas in *S. chrysotaenia* it does. The *S. chrysotaenia* sheet, under similar species, says the opposite: in *S. flavicauda* the pectoral fin tip reaches that vertical. Both statements come from the same edition. Which one is right cannot be settled from the two sheets alone — the detailed description on the species’ own sheet points to “does not reach”. In practice this means the pectoral fin on its own is not a reliable sign. Size, the black-edged yellow tail and, when in doubt, a photo for specialists help more.

Where it has turned up in the Mediterranean

The first record came from Israel: published by Daniel Golani in 1992 in the *Journal of Fish Biology*, together with a second species from the Red Sea (CIESM Atlas). After that the Atlas lists the Gulf of Antalya (published 2002), Rhodes (2005), Libya (2005), Cyprus (2015) and Tunisia (2016). The years are those of publication, not necessarily of capture. According to the Atlas it arrived via the Suez Canal; the Atlas rates its establishment success tersely as “rare”. In the Mediterranean, according to the Atlas, it has no importance to humans — in its native range, by contrast, it is commercially important.

Habitat, prey, reproduction

  • Shallow water on reefs and in bays. FishBase gives depths of 2–25 m, lagoons, sheltered seaward reefs and bays; by day, according to the English Wikipedia, it holds in schools in lagoons and on inner and outer reef slopes. The CIESM Atlas classifies it briefly as neritic-pelagic.
  • A schooling fish from a young age (CIESM Atlas, Italian Wikipedia).
  • Prey: fish and larger invertebrates (CIESM Atlas); the Italian Wikipedia names fish and crustaceans. The English Wikipedia considers it a probably nocturnal hunter — with the word “probably”.
  • Eggs and larvae drift in the plankton, and juveniles stay in very sheltered coastal waters (CIESM Atlas, English Wikipedia). The English Wikipedia gives a maximum age of about six years.
  • Conservation status: not threatened on the IUCN Red List (Least Concern). FishBase rates its resilience to fishing as very low (population doubling time over 14 years) and its vulnerability as low to moderate (33 out of 100).

Where the sources disagree

  • Does the pectoral fin reach the first dorsal fin? CIESM Atlas, *S. flavicauda* sheet: no. CIESM Atlas, *S. chrysotaenia* sheet: yes (see above).
  • When did the first one arrive? English Wikipedia: first record off Israel in 1991. CIESM Atlas and Italian Wikipedia: 1992 — that is the year of publication.
  • How big is it usually? CIESM Atlas: 20–45 cm. FishBase: 40 cm total length. English Wikipedia: 35–40 cm. All agree on the maximum of 60 cm.
  • Five or six spines? CIESM Atlas and English Wikipedia: five in the first dorsal fin. FishBase: six dorsal spines. This is probably a matter of counting: the Atlas lists the single spine of the second dorsal fin separately (5 + 1).
  • Rare or common? CIESM Atlas: rare; English Wikipedia: established but relatively rare — and at the same time common off Libya together with *S. chrysotaenia*.
  • Reef or open water? FishBase: reef-associated. CIESM Atlas: neritic-pelagic.
  • Striped or not? FishBase and Italian Wikipedia: two brown longitudinal stripes, the Italian Wikipedia also with a yellow back. CIESM Atlas and English Wikipedia: grey back, at most a yellowish tinge on the flanks, no mention of stripes.
  • Which order? CIESM Atlas: Scombriformes. English Wikipedia: Carangiformes. FishBase: no formal order, a catch-all group within the Carangaria.

Three naming traps

  • “Obtusata” means different things depending on the source. FishBase treats *Sphyraena obtusata* as a separate species that *S. flavicauda* is confused with. The CIESM Atlas, however, treats *S. obtusata* as a synonym of *S. chrysotaenia*, the other Suez barracuda. So anyone reading “obtusata” in a catch list cannot be sure which fish is meant.
  • Sphyraena pinguis. The CIESM Atlas names this species, also Indo-Pacific, as the typical misidentification — not *S. chrysotaenia*.
  • “Yellowtail” is a generic name. In English, quite different fish carry this name too, and GBIF even lists “yellowstripe barracuda” for *S. flavicauda* — the name usually used for *S. chrysotaenia*. Here the scientific name is the only safe anchor.

That leaves the question every article in this series starts with: when. With a schooling predator that hunts fish in shallow coastal water and is probably active at night, the right timing matters more than any rig. Habitat, prey and features are set out above, and they are fixed. What changes every day are the conditions on your water — StrikeAhead calculates them and tells you when the trip is worth it. And because you don’t know the drop-offs and rules of unfamiliar waters from day one, StrikeAhead Pathfinder tells you who to go out with: curated guides and skippers, personally vetted before listing — licence and insurance —, with verified catches instead of advertising photos, no paid ranking and, for you as an angler, no booking fee. The app tells you when, Pathfinder who with.