Barracudas
barracuda
Northern Sennet
Sphyraena borealis
About
The northern sennet is a small, slim barracuda that patrols reefs and open water in the western Atlantic. Most experts see it as the smallest barracuda.
Also known as: northern barracuda, southern sennet
How to tell it apart
It can be mistaken for other barracudas in these waters, especially the much bigger great barracuda. It has several faint dark blotches along its sides, a pattern the bigger barracuda species don't have.
Appearance
Like other barracudas, it has a long, torpedo-shaped body. It has a pike-like head and big jaws lined with fang-like teeth. Its lower jaw sticks out slightly past the upper one. Two fins on its back (dorsal fins) sit well apart. Its colour is olive on top and silvery white below.
Habitat
It lives only in the western Atlantic, in warm waters running from Canada and Massachusetts south to Florida, the Gulf of Mexico, and the coast of Panama. In the Gulf of Mexico it is usually found around reefs.
Did you know?
Although it is popular as a gamefish, the northern sennet is only rarely eaten by people.
Log it in Into the Blue
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