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Coryphaena hippurus Linnaeus, 1758

Common dolphinfish
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Coryphaena hippurus   AquaMaps   Data sources: GBIF OBIS
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Image of Coryphaena hippurus (Common dolphinfish)
Coryphaena hippurus
Picture by Winterbottom, R.

Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes(genus, species) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa

Teleostei (teleosts) > Carangiformes (Jacks) > Coryphaenidae (Dolphinfishes)
Etymology: Coryphaena: Greek, koryphaina = dolphin fish (Ref. 45335).
More on author: Linnaeus.

Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range Ecology

Marine; brackish; pelagic-neritic; oceanodromous (Ref. 51243); depth range 0 - 85 m (Ref. 13608), usually 5 - 10 m (Ref. 40849). Subtropical; 21°C - 30°C (Ref. 26); 50°N - 40°S, 180°W - 180°E (Ref. 54341)

Distribution Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Point map | Introductions | Faunafri

Atlantic, Indian and Pacific: in tropical and subtropical waters. Highly migratory species

Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: Lm 55.8, range 35 - 93.1 cm
Max length : 210 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 9846); common length : 100.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 3390); max. published weight: 40.0 kg (Ref. 30874); max. reported age: 4 years (Ref. 2885)

Short description Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics

Dorsal spines (total): 0; Dorsal soft rays (total): 58 - 66; Anal spines: 0; Anal soft rays: 25 - 31; Vertebrae: 31. This species is distinguished by having the following characters: mature males with prominent bony crest in front of the head; greatest body depth in adults less than 25% of standard length; tooth patch on tongue small and oval; single dorsal fin extending from above eye almost to caudal fin with 58-66 rays; a concave anal fin extending from anus almost to caudal fin; pectoral fin more than half of head length; lateral-line scales at least 200 (Ref. 9648). Colour of body metallic blue-green on the back (fading to grey with green tinge when dead), sides silver with golden sheen, and 1 row of dark spots or golden blotches running below dorsal fin and 1, 2, or more rows on and below lateral line, some scattered irregularly; dorsal and anal fins black, the latter with a white edge; pectoral fins pale; caudal fin silvery with a golden sheen; in juveniles, only tips of caudal-fin lobes white, pelvic fins black (Ref. 9648).

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

Adults are found in open waters but also near the coast (Ref. 9293, 11230). Form schools. Feed on almost all forms of fish and zooplankton; also takes crustaceans and squid (Ref. 2850). Sexual maturity is reached in 4-5 months (3 for captive fish) (Ref. 11441). Spawn in the open sea and probably approximate to the coast when water temperature rises (Ref. 9293). Eggs and larvae are pelagic (Ref. 6755). Attracting devices such as floating bundles of bamboo reeds or cork planks are used to concentrate dolphin fish before the nets are set. Marketed frozen (Ref. 9987) and fresh and is of high value (Ref. 9293). Caught by trolling and on tuna longlines; also occasionally with drift nets (Ref. 9846).

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae

In East African waters, spawning season may last from March to early June and spawning occurs inshore. In the western Pacific, sex ratios were about equal during spawning season. Spawning in the western Atlantic occurs over an extended period of time. Spawn naturally in captivity without artificial inducement (Ref. 41779).

Main reference Upload your references | References | Coordinator | Collaborators

Palko, B.J., G.L. Beardsley and W.J. Richards, 1982. Synopsis of the biological data on dolphin-fishes, Coryphaena hippurus Linnaeus and Coryphaena equiselis Linnaeus. FAO Fish. Synop. (130); NOAA Tech. Rep. NMFS Circ. (443). (Ref. 26)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2024-1)

  Least Concern (LC) ; Date assessed: 17 September 2010

CITES

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

  Reports of ciguatera poisoning (Ref. 30911)





Human uses

Fisheries: highly commercial; aquaculture: commercial; gamefish: yes
FAO - Fisheries: landings, species profile; Publication: search | FishSource | Sea Around Us

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Internet sources

AFORO (otoliths) | Aquatic Commons | BHL | Cloffa | BOLDSystems | Websites from users | Check FishWatcher | CISTI | Catalog of Fishes: genus, species | DiscoverLife | ECOTOX | FAO - Fisheries: landings, species profile; Publication: search | Faunafri | Fishipedia | Fishtrace | GenBank: genome, nucleotide | GloBI | GoMexSI (interaction data) | Google Books | Google Scholar | Google | IGFA World Record | MitoFish | National databases | OsteoBase: skull, spine | Otolith Atlas of Taiwan Fishes | PubMed | Reef Life Survey | RFE Identification | Socotra Atlas | Tree of Life | Wikipedia: Go, Search | World Records Freshwater Fishing | Zoobank | Zoological Record

Estimates based on models

Preferred temperature (Ref. 123201): 18.1 - 29.1, mean 27.4 °C (based on 5894 cells).
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82804):  PD50 = 1.0000   [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.01349 (0.01055 - 0.01724), b=2.88 (2.81 - 2.95), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this species (Ref. 93245).
Trophic level (Ref. 69278):  4.4   ±0.0 se; based on diet studies.
Generation time: 1.1 (0.7 - 2.7) years. Estimated as median ln(3)/K based on 15 growth studies.
Resilience (Ref. 120179):  High, minimum population doubling time less than 15 months (K=0.4-1.2; tm<1; tmax=5; Fec=85,000).
Prior r = 1.09, 95% CL = 0.72 - 1.64, Based on 7 data-limited stock assessments.
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref. 59153):  Moderate vulnerability (41 of 100).
Climate Vulnerability (Ref. 125649):  High to very high vulnerability (70 of 100).
Price category (Ref. 80766):   High.
Nutrients (Ref. 124155):  Calcium = 61.9 [27.9, 135.3] mg/100g; Iron = 1.59 [0.82, 3.12] mg/100g; Protein = 20.1 [18.8, 21.4] %; Omega3 = 0.237 [0.109, 0.518] g/100g; Selenium = 51.9 [21.7, 122.7] μg/100g; VitaminA = 2.57 [0.64, 11.45] μg/100g; Zinc = 0.54 [0.34, 0.88] mg/100g (wet weight); based on nutrient studies.