Skipjack tuna
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An illustration based on the real animal.
A little discovery to share.
Skipjack tuna have no swim bladder.
THE REAL WORLD
The real Skipjack tuna
- Scientific name
- Katsuwonus pelamis
- Japanese name
- カツオ
- Group
- Ocean animals
- Order
- Scombriformes
- Family
- Scombridae
- Genus
- Katsuwonus
A fish found widely in temperate to tropical seas around the world. Around Japan, it moves north along the Kuroshio Current in spring.
Its back is dark blue and its belly silvery-white. When it gets excited, thick black bands appear on its body.
It swims near the surface in huge schools and eats fish such as sardines, as well as squid and krill.
How the Skipjack tuna lives
It feeds most actively in the early morning and late afternoon. It sometimes gathers beneath objects floating on the surface. Near Japan, it feeds in northern waters and returns south in autumn.
University of Michigan Animal Diversity WebアクアマリンふくしまBasic data
- Size
- Body length: up to 1 m
- Diet
- Fish such as sardines, squid, krill, and other animals
- Range
- Tropical to temperate seas worldwide
Where the Skipjack tuna has been recorded
Records: GBIF.org (CC0 and CC BY 4.0 records, retrieved 2026-11-07). Map: Natural EarthSee the records on GBIF
Watch wild animals from a distance. Do not touch or feed them, and take care of the places where they live.
Names around the world
- 日本語
- カツオ
- 简体中文
- 正鲣
- 繁體中文
- 正鰹
- 한국어
- 가다랑어
- Español
- Listado
- Français
- Bonitou
- Deutsch
- Echter Bonito
- Português (Brasil)
- Bonito
- Italiano
- Tonnetto striato
- العربية
- تونة وثابة
- Bahasa Indonesia
- Cakalang
- Tiếng Việt
- Cá ngừ vằn
- Русский
- Полосатый тунец
- Türkçe
- Yazılı orkinos
- ไทย
- ปลาโอแถบ
Names come from Wikidata and iNaturalist records. Where a language has no recorded name, we use the scientific name.
Sources and how we check
- アクアマリンふくしま — カツオChecked: 2026-11-03
- 東京都島しょ農林水産総合センター — カツオChecked: 2026-11-03
- University of Michigan Animal Diversity Web — Katsuwonus pelamisChecked: 2026-11-03
We check each fact against its source. The illustrations simplify how the real animal looks.
The classification (class, order, family, genus) follows Wikidata records, checked against GBIF. Classifications can change as research goes on.
The basic data are the values given in each source. They vary with how the animal is measured, whether it is male or female, and whether it lives in the wild or in captivity.
This page was translated from the original Japanese with the help of AI.
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