Herring scad
species of fish
The herring scad (Alepes vari) (also known as the duskyfin crevalle and trevally scad), is a common species of tropical marine fish in the jack family Carangidae. The species inhabits the surface waters of coastal regions throughout the Indo-West Pacific region, feeding on a variety of crustaceans and small fishes. It is the largest fish of the scad genus Alepes, growing to a recorded length of 56 cm. The herring scad is identified among the genus Alepes by its more numerous and smaller scutes and the number of gill rakers on the first arch. It is of minor importance to fisheries throughout its range.
Taxonomy and naming
The herring scad is one of five extant species in the scad genus Alepes, a group of fish in the jack family, Carangidae. The Carangidae are part of the order Carangiformes.
The species was first scientifically described by the French naturalist Georges Cuvier in 1833 from a specimen now lost to science. He named the species Caranx vari, believing the fish was closely affiliated with the large jacks of that genus. The species was later transferred to the scad genus Alepes by Gushiken in 1983, and a specimen from Puducherry, India was designated to be the lectotype the following year by Smith-Vaniz.
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The date and method of observation matter as much as the stated conclusion, especially where classification or consensus has changed. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 11, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q2199873. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1833 and 1983.
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This entry incorporates text from “Herring scad” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.