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Striped bonito

Striped bonito

A marine fish in the mackerel and tuna family.

The striped bonito is a ray-finned fish belonging to the Scombridae family. It inhabits marine waters across the Indo-Pacific and East Pacific regions. Adults can reach lengths of over one metre, though most are smaller. This species lives at various depths and is known by alternative common names.

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  • Belongs to the Scombridae family
  • Found in Indo-Pacific and East Pacific
  • Maximum recorded length is 102 cm
  • Lives at depths up to 167 metres
  • Also known as mackerel bonito

What it is

The striped bonito is a species of marine ray-finned fish. It belongs to the family Scombridae, which includes tunas and mackerels. This fish has a streamlined body typical of fast-swimming pelagic species. While individuals can grow to a maximum length of 102 centimetres, they are commonly found at sizes no larger than 55 centimetres. The species is also referred to as the mackerel bonito in some contexts.

Where it lives

This species is distributed widely across two major oceanic regions. Its range extends through the Indo-Pacific area and into the East Pacific. The striped bonito inhabits marine environments rather than freshwater systems. It is found at varying depths, from shallow waters near the surface down to 167 metres. This depth range allows it to occupy different zones within the water column.

Questions people ask about Striped bonito

What family does the striped bonito belong to?

The striped bonito is part of the Scombridae family. This group includes other well-known marine fish such as tunas and mackerels.

How large do striped bonitos grow?

They can reach a maximum length of 102 centimetres. However, most individuals are commonly no longer than 55 centimetres in size.

Where are striped bonitos found?

This species is distributed through the Indo-Pacific and East Pacific regions. It lives in marine waters at depths ranging from 1 to 167 metres.

Good reading and sources

Where this page comes from

The facts on this page come from the Wikipedia article "Striped bonito", written by its contributors and used under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence, and from its Wikidata record (CC0). EveryFish rewrote the text in its own words, with AI assistance, and compares every page with the article to make sure no passage is copied. It may be reused under the same CC BY-SA 4.0 licence with a link back.

It may contain mistakes, and figures change over time. Nothing here is investment or buying advice. If something is wrong, tell us. Last refreshed 2026-11-15.

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Photo credits on this page

The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.

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