JACKS
CARANGIDAE
Black Jack
Caranx lugubris
    Ecological Descriptors
Habitat Size (cm) Diet Behaviour Sex 
Pel (Co) to 1m Pisc Noct I (Sh) F
 
 
Description:
Body dark olive gray to almost black on the back, shading to bluish gray ventrally, scutes black. Upper profile of the head steep, the
anterior part concave, mouth relatively large. Small dark spot on upper corner of operculum.Tail deeply forked. Dorsal and anal fins long and dark. Scutes usually black. Pectoral fin with yellow.

Ecology
An oceanic and insular species, usually restricted to clear offshore waters, but also off reefs. At depths down to 100m (280ft). Not commonly found in shallow banks. Sometimes seen near the drop-off at the outer edge of reefs. Occasionally forming schools. Carnivorous feedind on fish, crustaceans and cephlapods at night.

Life Cycle
Reproduction and development in this species involves pelagic eggs and larvae at the early stages. During reproduction, the  females gather together at spawning sites, where each female releases thousands of eggs into the water, which are then
fertilized by sperm released by the males, so fertilization is external. These fertilized eggs hatch into larvae in the open water, but only about one larva in every thousand survives and develops into a juvenile fish. This species becomes sexually mature when the females are around 35cm and the males are about 38cm long.
Black Jack
Black Jack
(C) Dr P Ryan/ Ryan Photographic
47