Barracudas
barracuda
Bigeye barracuda
Sphyraena forsteri
About
The bigeye barracuda often shows up as a silver wall of fish hanging over a reef slope by day, then splits up to hunt alone once night falls.
Also known as: blackspot barracuda, striped seapike, forster's barracuda, foster's barracuda, black-spot barracuda, forster's sea-pike, blackspot barracuda, big-eye sea-pyke, blotched sea-pike, black-spot barracuda
- Length
- 50 cm · max 75 cm
- Depth
- up to 300 m
How to tell it apart
Several barracuda species form schools on the same reefs. Look at the size of the eye relative to the head; this species has a noticeably large eye, which is where its name comes from.
Appearance
This barracuda has a long, slender, torpedo-shaped body, blackish above and silvery below. Its head is long and pointed, with a large mouth and a lower jaw that juts out slightly past the upper one. It can grow up to 75cm long.
Did you know?
Although it gathers in large schools over lagoon reefs and reef slopes during the day, this barracuda becomes active at night, when it hunts alone rather than as a group.
Log it in Into the Blue
Describe what you saw and we name it, then keep every species you find in your Oceandex.
