There are more than 20 species of barracuda. The great barracuda is the best known. Not all barracuda are giants. The northern barracuda, a relative of the great barracuda, does not grow longer than 18 inches, while the great barracuda can reach more than six feet. The Pacific barracuda, a relative that lives along the coast from Alaska to Baja California, has a published maximum length of 145 cm (fork length) and weight of 12 kg.
The name Sphyraena is Latin for a pike-like fish. Fishermen once thought barracudas were closely related to pikes because their bodies are shaped alike. In Hawaii the great barracuda is called kaku, and it was also known as 'opelu mama.
A great barracuda has a long, slim body shaped like a torpedo. The biggest great barracudas grow to about 2 meters (6.5 feet) long. The biggest ones reported weigh about 50 kilograms (110 pounds). It is dark on top and silver and white underneath, with large eyes. It has two dorsal (back) fins that are set far apart. Its tail fin is slightly notched in the middle, with pale tips on each side.
A great barracuda hunts by ambush: it lies in wait and then surprises its prey. It finds its prey mostly by sight. The Florida Museum of Natural History estimates that the top speed of a great barracuda may be as fast as 36 mph (58 km/h). It is an estimate for the species, not a measured speed. Some of a barracuda's teeth face backward, which helps it keep its grip on slippery prey.
Great barracudas eat jacks, grunts, groupers, snappers, small tunas, mullets, killifishes, herrings and anchovies, among other fish. They sometimes eat squid, octopus or shrimp. A barracuda swallows small fish whole and cuts bigger fish into pieces to swallow.
Great barracudas live in warm seas around the world. They prefer water between 74 and 82 degrees Fahrenheit, though they have been found in much colder water. They live around coral reefs, seagrass beds and mangroves. They swim mostly at or near the surface of the sea, and have been found as deep as about 100 meters (325 feet).
Adult great barracudas often swim alone. Young great barracudas, and some adults, travel in schools during the day. Young barracudas grow up among mangroves and seagrass, where they can hide. By its second year, a young great barracuda moves from its shallow nursery to deeper reef. A male is about 2 years old, and a female about 4, when they can first breed. Great barracudas live at least 14 years.
Words to know
- species: kind of animal
- ambush: wait and surprise
- pike: a long fish
- dorsal: on the back
- estimate: careful guess
