Ken Schultz's Field Guide to Saltwater Fish - Macaw Pets store

These two members of the Carangidae family are almost
identical in appearance and were formerly thought to be
the same species.
Identification. Both species are bluish-green to greenishgold
on the back and silvery or yellowish on the belly. They
are compressed, and the deep body has a high, rounded
profile, as well as a large mouth. The tail and the anal fin
may be yellowish, and the ends of the dorsal fin and the
upper tail are occasionally black. There is a prominent black
spot on the gill cover and another at the base of each pectoral
fin. The soft dorsal and anal fins are almost identical in
size. The two species are distinguished externally from each
other only by the presence of a larger maximum number of
scutes, up to 42 on the Pacific crevalle jack, as opposed to
26 to 35 on the crevalle jack.
Size. Averaging 3 to 5 pounds in weight and 1 to 2 1 ⁄2 feet
in length, the crevalle jack can regularly weigh as much as
10 pounds; the Pacific crevalle jack is usually smaller. The alltackle
world record for the crevalle jack is a 58-pound
Angolan fish and for the Pacific crevalle jack is a 39-pound
Costa Rican fish.
Life history/Behavior. Spawning occurs offshore from
March through September. Young fish occur in moderate to
large fast-moving schools, and crevalle jacks occasionally
school with horse-eye jacks, although larger fish are often
solitary.
Food and feeding habits. Voracious predators, they feed
on shrimp, other invertebrates, and smaller fish. Crevalle
jacks will often corner a school of baitfish at the surface and
feed in a commotion that can be seen for great distances, or
they will chase their prey onto beaches and against seawalls.
Fish of both species often grunt or croak when they
are caught.
Jack, Crevalle
Caranx hippos
Jack, Pacific Crevalle
Caranx caninus
OTHER NAMES
crevalle jack
common jack, crevally,
toro, trevally, horse
crevalle; Spanish: cavallo,
chumbo, cocinero, jurel
común.
Pacific crevalle jack
toro, crevally, cavalla,
jiguagua; Spanish: aurel,
burel, canche jurel, chumbo,
cocinero, jurel toro, jurelito,
sargentillo.
Distribution. In the western
Atlantic, crevalle jacks
occur from Nova Scotia
south throughout the northern
Gulf of Mexico. In the
eastern Pacific, they occur
from San Diego, California,
to Peru.
Habitat. Both species can
tolerate a wide range of
salinities and often inhabit
coastal areas of brackish
water and may ascend
rivers, frequenting shore
reefs, harbors, and protected
bays. Small fish are
occasionally found over
sandy and muddy bottoms
of very shallow waters, as in
estuaries and rivers. They
are common in depths of up
to 130 feet and often move
into cooler, deeper water
during the summer.
Jack, Crevalle and Jack, Pacific Crevalle 113