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

A member of the Carangidae family of jacks, the rainbow
runner does not look like other jacks because it is a much
slimmer, more streamlined fish. It is also an excellent food
fish, with firm, white flesh, marketed fresh and salted/dried.
In Japan, the rainbow runner is cooked with a special sauce
or eaten raw and is considered a delicacy.
Identification. The rainbow runner is blue-green above
and white or silver below, with a yellow or pink cast. On
both sides, there is a broad, dark-blue, horizontal stripe
from the snout to the base of the tail; a narrow, pale-blue
stripe immediately below it that runs through each eye; a
pale to brilliant-yellow stripe below that; and then another
narrow pale-blue stripe. The tail is yellow and the other fins
are a greenish- or olive yellow. The rainbow runner has a
slender body that is more elongated than those of most
other jacks. The first dorsal fin has six spines and the second
has one spine and 25 to 27 connected soft rays. Behind this
is a 2-rayed finlet. The anal fin has a single detached spine
with 16 to 18 soft rays, followed by a 2-rayed finlet. The
rainbow runner is similar to the cobia in shape but can be
distinguished by its coloring, as well as by the finlets that
follow the dorsal and the anal fins.
Size. The rainbow runner is typically 2 to 3 feet long,
although it can reach 4 feet and 22 pounds. The all-tackle
world record is a 37-pound, 9-ounce Mexican fish.
Food. Rainbow runners feed on invertebrates, small fish,
and squid.
Runner, Rainbow
Elagatis bipinnulata
OTHER NAMES
runner, rainbow yellowtail,
skipjack, shoemaker,
Hawaiian salmon, prodigal
son; Creole: carangue
saumon, dauphin vert,
sorcier; French: carangue
arc-en-ciel, comère saumon;
Hawaiian: kamanu; Japanese:
taumuburi; Spanish:
cola amarilla, corredores,
macarela, pez rata, salmon,
sardinata.
Distribution. Found
worldwide in marine waters,
the rainbow runner occurs
in the western Atlantic, from
Massachusetts throughout
the northern Gulf of Mexico
to northeastern Brazil. In
the eastern Pacific, it occurs
from the mouth of the Gulf
of California, Mexico, to
Ecuador, including the
Galápagos Islands.
Habitat. Rainbow runners
form either small polarized
groups or large schools that
usually remain at or near
the surface, although they
can inhabit depths of up to
120 feet. They occur over
reefs and in deep, clear
lagoons, preferring areas
with a current.
Runner, Rainbow 161