Caranx latus Agassiz 1831

Ceríaco, Luis M. P., Santos, Bruna S., Semedo, Thiago B. F., Garcia, Lucas Canes & Moreira, Cristiano Rangel, 2023, The fish collection of José Mariano da Conceição Veloso (1742 - 1811) and the beginning of ichthyological research in Brazil, with a taxonomic description of the extant specimens, Zootaxa 5391 (1), pp. 1-85 : 36-38

Caranx latus Agassiz 1831

Extant specimens: MCUC ZOO.0000015 ( Fig. 23a ), MCUC ZOO.0000029 ( Fig. 23b ), and MCUC ZOO.0000044 ( Fig. 23c ).

Classification on the specimen: “P. Th. Scomber ”.

Common names on the specimen (Portuguese/Tupi): None.

Comments: This species was undescribed at the time Veloso prepared it. During the 18 th century, the genus Scomber encompassed species that are currently classified in various families, including Carangidae , Gempylidae , Istiophoridae , Leiognathidae , Rachycentridae , and Scombridae . In one specimen (MCUC ZOO.0000015), there is a pencil inscription following the genus “ Scomber ” with the specific name “ pelamis ,” which refers to Katsuwonus pelamis ( Linnaeus 1758) . However, the exact timing of this inscription cannot be determined with precision, and it is likely that Veloso was not responsible for it. The Ajuda’s inventory ( Ferreira 1794) documents 66 herborized specimens of Scomber , and although several Scomber species are listed in the transference documentation to the Lisbon Academy of Sciences and the University of Coimbra, none can be definitively attributed to Caranx latus . The Ichthyologia Fluminensis describes seven species of the genus Scomber , however, none of them corresponds to C. latus . Caranx latus occurs in the Western Atlantic from New Jersey ( USA) to Rio Grande do Sul ( Brazil) ( Menezes & Figueiredo 1980; Smith-Vaniz 2016).

Figures

FIGURE 23. Caranx latus Agassiz 1831; a: MCUC ZOO.0000015, 400 mm SL; b: MCUC ZOO.0000029, 273 mm SL; c: MCUC ZOO.0000044, 295 mm SL. Photos by Luis M. P. Ceríaco.