Common names
Australian tuna, Striped bonito, Watson's bonito
Leaping bonito
Cybiosarda elegans
- Saltwater
- Least concern
Max length17.75 in
Common length13.75 in
Length typeFork Length
Max weight4 lb 7 oz
Min Depth164 ft
Water typeSaltwater
Fish info
IUCN Vulnerability status
Short description
Leaping bonito have 3-4 horizontal stripes running down their upper and middle flanks with a green/blue colouration dorsally fading to a lighter green, then silver on the belly. Their head is deep blue in colour, their back has many small spots around the spinous dorsal fin and large scattered dark greyish elongated spots elsewhere. The spinous dorsal fin is black anteriorly, and white at the posterior spines, other fins and finlets are yellowish. They have a relatively short and strongly compressed body. The caudal peduncle has a well-developed keel, flanked on each side by a smaller keel. Bonito have moderately large, strong jaws (extending to the hind margin of the eye) and mouths which carry a single row of relatively small, but distinct, conical teeth. their pectoral fins are quite short. The Leaping Bonito is best separated from other bonito species by the large, black, first dorsal fin and stripes along the belly.
Habitat
Found in schools in bays, large estuaries, rocky reefs and coastal waters.
Distribution
Western Pacific: restricted to the northern three-quarters of Australia (absent from the south coast) and the southern coast of Papua New Guinea.
Behaviour
An epipelagic, neritic species that form schools of several hundred individuals. The species is often seen inshore near schools of baitfish including anchovies and clupeids. It appears to undertake a southerly migration along the east coast each Austral summer, ranging into southern NSW and northern Victorian waters.
Edibility
Bonitos are strong-tasting fish that somewhat resembles the flavour of tuna, but they're more like a cross between a mackerel and a tuna. The meat isn't as dense as tuna meat and is quite a bit oilier and fattier as well.
Lure suggestion
Leaping Bonito will readily take metal slugs, jigs, shiny spoons and minnow-style lures, basically anything that resembles small bait fish. Leaping Bonito are best targeted during the winter months when they are close inshore. Good baits: pilchards, minnows, squid, or other small fish.
Similar species
Other similar species
Other bonito species