Scomberesocidae

King gar

Scomberesox scombroides

Elongated jaws forming a beak with longer lower jaw

• Cross-climate
• Temperate
• Tropical
• Near the Equator
• Southern Hemisphere
• Transcontinental
• Atlantic Ocean
• Indian Ocean
• Pacific Ocean
• Africa
• South America
• Fusiform
• Medium
• Tropical fish

Scomberesox scombroides, the king gar, is a species of saury, a fish in the family Scomberesocidae which is widespread in the temperate oceans of the Southern Hemisphere. It is a slender, elongated fish which has a small mouth with long extensions of both jaws forming a beak with the extension of the lower jaw being slightly longer than that of the upper jaw, the dorsal and anal fins are set far back on the body and have short bases, each is followed by 5-7 finlets between them and the deeply forked homocercal tail. Scomberesox scombroides is an epipelagic, schooling species which is found in the open sea near the surface, although it occasionally enters bays and inlets.