Tarpon

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For other uses, see Tarpon (disambiguation).

Tarpon
Fossil range: Late Miocene to Present^[1]

Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Elopiformes
Family:	Megalopidae
Genus:	Megalops Valenciennes, 1847

Species

See text.

The tarpons (Spanish: sábalos) are large coastal fish prized by anglers. They grow up to 8 feet in length and sometimes weigh 200 pounds. When swimming in oxygen-poor water, tarpons can breathe air from the surface. There are two species in a single genus Megalops in the family Megalopidae^[2], one native to the Atlantic, and the other to the Indo-Pacific oceans.

The genus name derives from the Greek adjective megalo meaning 'large', and the noun opsi, meaning 'face'.

[edit] Species

Atlantic tarpon, Megalops atlanticus, a famous sport fish.

The tarpon is non-edible and a very athletic and strong fish so this type of fishing will truly wear an angler out! You can find this species throughout the Florida Keys and are targeted more in the spring. Baby tarpon may be found in residential canals that surround mangrove islands. In summer, tarpon range from babies of 5 to 25 pounds up to an average size of 30 to 60 pounds. For the most part, these tarpon live in the Keys and don't roam far.

Tarpon Fishing in the Florida Keys

Indo-Pacific tarpon, Megalops cyprinoides, a lesser-known and smaller fish.

[edit] External References

References in to the genus Megalops in The Biodiversity Heritage Library
Tarpon Fishing in the Florida Keys

[edit] References

^ Sepkoski, Jack (2002). "A compendium of fossil marine animal genera". Bulletins of American Paleontology 364: p.560.
^ "Megalopidae". FishBase. Ed. Rainer Froese and Daniel Pauly. 05 2006 version. N.p.: FishBase, 2006.