Barracuda fish

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Fish

Barracuda is a whole genus, which consists of 29 species. They are all similar and are predators. They are sometimes called sea tigers for their speed and strength. Indeed, the barracuda fish with its sharp teeth in two rows is a thunderstorm of the seas, terrifying smaller fish, and larger ones too. It can seriously injure even sharks, which discourages them from attacking.

Origin of the species and description

Photo: Barracuda fish

Barracudas are ray-finned along with many other genera - accordingly, their primary evolution proceeded in the same way. The first fossil remains of ray-finned fish date back to the Middle Devonian - about 390 million years ago. After another 50 million years, they spread throughout the planet, and then subclasses emerged - including new feathers, which include barracudas. Already in the Triassic period, a clade of bony fish emerged from them - most of the fish that have survived to this day, including barracudas, belong to it.

In the course of further evolution, the mackerel order was formed, which includes the barracuda family, and already the barracuda genus. However, the order of evolution and chronology have not yet been sufficiently studied. There are several known extinct species of barracuda, but scientists believe that most of them have successfully survived to this day.

Video: Barracuda fish

The genus received its name in Latin - Sphyraena - along with a scientific description made in 1778 by the German botanist Jacob Klein. In subsequent years, more and more individual species were described, for example, Sphyraena barracuda in 1781, Sphyraena jello in 1829 - and so on. The last two species were described quite recently: in 2005 and 2015.

In total, 29 of them are currently identified, but it is possible that there is another species or several, just waiting for them to be given a scientific description. After all, the family is very abundant, and some representatives are difficult to distinguish from each other, and besides, they live, among other things, in little-studied corners of the planet.

Some modern types:

large barracuda - usually the length of this fish is 70-90 centimeters and weight 3-8 kg. In some cases, it can grow significantly larger and weigh up to 50 kg. Found primarily in the Caribbean Sea;
guancho - inferior to the previous one in length and much slimmer, and therefore weighs significantly less (often within 1-1.5 kg). It stands out because its meat cannot be poisoned - that’s why it is actively caught and consumed fried and smoked;
silver barracuda - its length is 1.1-1.5 meters, and its weight is 5-10 kg. Found off the west coast of both Americas, usually in small flocks.

Interesting fact: The word “barracuda” itself is believed to be derived from the Spanish barraco, which refers to abnormally growing teeth. The Spaniards gave it after they first encountered this fish when they arrived in the Caribbean.

Culinary use

Barracuda fish meat contains a number of useful substances:

amino acids: methionine, lysine, tryptophan, taurine;
vitamins: A, D, F, E;
selenium;
iodine.

The meat of exclusively young fish, not exceeding 60 cm in length and weighing up to 1.5 kg, is consumed. Larger individuals accumulate toxic substances in their bodies. They do not lose their dangerous properties either when frozen or cooked.

In Japan, fish meat is highly valued for its taste. Australian cuisine is famous for its barracuda delicacies, where it is considered a national dish. It is usually served with rice and sauce, but the fish meat is also eaten raw. Barracuda can be fried, boiled, stewed, baked. One of the most popular dishes is fried fillet in batter, served with fresh vegetables. Mostly clean fillet without skin and bones is used. But true fish connoisseurs claim that it is the skin that gives the dish its unique aroma, fat content and taste.

Video

Appearance and features

Photo: Barracuda fish in the Red Sea

The most important characteristic feature of barracudas is their protruding lower jaw, which gives them an aggressive appearance. In this they have a noticeable similarity with pikes, although genetically they are quite far apart. The teeth in the barracuda's mouth are arranged in two rows: small on the outside, and larger ones behind them. The body is elongated and quite thin - this shape is needed to make it easier to cut through the water flow. The lateral line clearly stands out on it. The dorsal fins are widely spaced and noticeably different from each other.

Due to the powerful tail fin, the barracuda develops high speed - it can exceed 40 km/h when the fish makes a dash during the hunt. As a result, barracuda is one of the fastest fish, making it very difficult to hide from it. Another interesting feature: with the help of a swim bladder, a barracuda can not only regulate the depth of its dive, but also, if necessary, swim in very narrow places, such as crevices between rocks - to do this, it needs to deflate the bubble. A useful feature during hunting.

The color of the upper part can vary depending on the species: from white to black, including bright colors such as green. But the belly is always white, and the adjacent sides are silvery. The size and weight depend on the species to which the barracuda belongs, and can fluctuate quite greatly - however, almost all representatives of the genus can be classified as large fish.

Interesting fact: The record holder among them is the Guinean barracuda (afra) - they can grow up to 210 centimeters, and their weight reaches 60 kilograms. And even European ones are the smallest of all, growing up to 50-60 centimeters, and weighing 4-6 kilograms (and in some cases they turn out to be many times more).

Where does the barracuda fish live?

Photo: Sea fish barracuda

This fish lives in the warm waters of the subtropics and tropics, in three oceans - you won’t find it only in the Arctic Ocean. It stays near the surface, does not swim to depth, and can live both in the open sea and near the coast, in shallow water.

Large species mainly live in the open sea, but small ones prefer calmer and more turbid water. They love places with a lot of shelters: rocks, reefs, thickets, because they can hide in them while hunting. Therefore, they are especially often found in shallow bays, abundant in prey.

8 species can be found in the Red Sea. They are also widespread in the Mediterranean Sea, but not so widely, and there are fewer species in this sea - only 4, and half of them sailed from the Red Sea after they began to communicate.

This fish also loves the Caribbean Sea, because it has a lot of wildlife and a scattering of islands, which means there are a lot of rough shallow waters nearby, and this is a real paradise for barracudas. They are also found off the Russian coast in the Sea of Japan.

Interesting fact: Evolution has given the barracuda everything a good hunter needs. These include sharp teeth that penetrate deeply into the victim, excellent vision, which allows it to see much better in bad weather than other inhabitants of the sea, a mouth that slams shut in a matter of milliseconds, and the speed it develops.

What is especially interesting is the speed: a barracuda can reach 50 km/h and, in addition to strong fins and a body adapted to cut through water, this can be achieved by the special mucus it produces, which reduces water resistance - enveloping the barracuda’s body, it allows it to overcome it almost twice as easily.

Barracuda recipe

Barracuda is also known as sphyrene (native Latin name) or sea pike, since this fish is similar in appearance to the familiar freshwater pike. The World Ocean is home to 26 species belonging to the barracuda family. This fish is mainly found in tropical and subtropical seas. They catch barracuda in the upper layers of the water, where the water warms up well under the sun's rays. Thus, 8 species of barracuda live in the Red Sea, and 4 species in the Mediterranean. For example, the main catches in the Mediterranean Sea from a country like Israel are barracuda. In Israel, barracuda is called "malita".

Barracuda is a predatory fish; its diet consists of various small fish, squid and shrimp. Often barracuda can hunt in a school. However, large individuals, as a rule, hunt alone. The barracuda has an elongated body, covered with small scales, the fish’s mouth is wide, studded with sharp and large teeth, and the dorsal fins are short. This fish does not pose a danger to humans. Barracuda meat is very beneficial for the human body. Dishes made from this fish have excellent taste.

Barracuda fried with vegetables

To prepare this delicious dish, it does not take much time, but you need the following ingredients: barracuda fillet 0.6 kg, carrots 0.5 kg, potatoes 1 kg, ginger 20 g, butter 40 g, a bunch of green onions, ghee 20 g, flour 2 tablespoons, milk 0.25 l, vegetable broth 0.1 l, ground black pepper, wasabi 2 teaspoons, salt.

The first step is to peel and wash the potatoes. Then cut it into pieces and cook for 20 minutes. Next, peel the carrots and cut them into strips, chop the green onions coarsely. Peel the ginger, chop it and fry it a little in butter. Add carrots to ginger and fry for another 2 minutes. Next, pour in the vegetable broth, add pepper and salt, and cook for another 8 minutes. Add green onions and continue cooking for another 5 minutes.

Cut the barracuda fillet into pieces, then grate with ground pepper and salt and lightly roll in flour. Next, fry the fish meat on all sides for 4 minutes. Then you need to make mashed potatoes by adding milk, wasabi and 10 g butter. Barracuda fillet is served with vegetables and mashed potatoes. The dish can be decorated with various herbs, parsley, basil, and cilantro.

Barracuda salad

Probably, each of us wants to decorate our holiday table with delicious, delicious and unusual dishes. Barracuda salad fits all these criteria quite well. It will become a real decoration for your holiday table. To prepare a festive barracuda meat salad you will need: 0.5 kg barracuda fillet. 1 jar of black olives, 3 cloves of garlic, 1 onion, 3 cucumbers, 10 tomatoes, 10 quail eggs, 1 lime and a bunch of dill.

After washing, the barracuda fillet should be cut into large pieces. To give the meat more juiciness and a more piquant taste, you need to treat it with salt and lime juice, and you can also add ground pepper to taste. Then let the fillet marinate for 30-45 minutes. It is important here not to oversalt the fish.

At the next stage, you need to wash the dill and then finely chop it, peel the garlic and chop it. Then heat the frying pan over medium heat and add vegetable oil, put the ingredients prepared for this into the frying pan. Meat and herbs should be simmered over medium heat.

Next we’ll start preparing the vegetables for the salad. The first step is to peel the onion, preferably red. The previously cleaned onion should be rinsed with cold water, then you can avoid pain in the eyes; it is also recommended to rinse the knife with which you will cut the onion in cold water. After this, the onion should be cut into two halves and chopped into half rings, preferably thinner. For barracuda salad you will need cherry tomatoes. But if there are no such tomatoes, then they are replaced with ordinary ones. Each tomato should be cut into two even parts and then chopped into slices. You should cut carefully so as not to damage the flesh of the tomatoes. Then we cut the cucumbers. At the same time, boil the quail eggs and fill them with cold water to cool quickly. After this, we peel the shells and cut them into 4 even pieces.

Place all the prepared ingredients in a deep salad bowl, season with mayonnaise and olive oil and mix gently but thoroughly. Festive barracuda salad is ready!

Barracuda rolls

An original and very tasty dish, barracuda rolls. To prepare them you will need: 0.5 kg of barracuda meat, 0.3 kg of bacon, 1 lime, 0.2 kg of hard cheese, vegetable oil, Tabasco sauce and salt.

Rinse the fish meat and then dry thoroughly. Then cut into thick bars. Then lightly soak the barracuda meat with juice squeezed from lime and mixed with salt and Tabasco sauce. Add very little sauce, as the dish may become too spicy. This meat should be marinated for 2-2.5 hours. Some people marinate for about 4 hours to marinate the meat even better.

Cut the cheese into strips; the approximate thickness of such strips should be 0.4-0.5 cm. Then heat the vegetable oil in a frying pan over medium heat and lightly fry the barracuda meat. Next, the fish should cool slightly. Then it must be wrapped along with the cheese in a strip of bacon diagonally. The rolls are fried on all sides for about 2 minutes. Once cooked, the rolls should be placed in a shallow dish and served.

Barracuda in creamy sauce with spaghetti

Barracuda and spaghetti in creamy sauce provide a unique combination of taste. This dish does not require much time to prepare and the dish tastes great.

Ingredients required for this recipe: 0.3 kg barracuda fillet, 0.4 kg spaghetti, olive oil and butter, 0.2 l cream, ground pepper and salt. For herbs and vegetables you will need dill and parsley, 3 cloves of garlic, 1 onion.

Wash the fish fillet and dry it using a paper towel, add salt and grate with ground pepper. Cut the meat into small pieces and then let it soak for 40-50 minutes.

Peel the garlic and onion, rinse the greens and chop everything finely. Heat a frying pan on the stove and add butter and olive oil to it and place the barracuda pieces, garlic and onions in the frying pan. Fry all this for about 10 minutes. Next, pour the cream into the pan. You need to pour them in slowly and stir constantly to avoid burning, continue to simmer the barracuda meat and vegetables until cooked.

Boil the spaghetti for 10 minutes and strain through a colander. After this, divide the barracuda meat into portions along with the spaghetti. At the same time, the plates should be warm so that the dish does not cool down longer. Sprinkle with herbs on top. You can also add grated hard cheese or capers.

Bon appetit!

What does barracuda fish eat?

Photo: Barracuda fish

The menu of this predator consists of:

other smaller fish, like tuna or sardine;
squid;
crustaceans;
bloodworm;
caviar.

This is a very voracious fish, and every day it needs several kilograms of food, as a result of which it is almost constantly busy hunting. Barracuda can hunt alone, waiting for prey in ambush, hiding in rocks or thickets, or in a group. In the second case, they attack schools and, attacking from all sides, create a panic in which some fish may fall into the teeth of the hunters. Smaller fish hunt in schools, while the largest ones prefer solitary hunting. Capable of pursuing prey for a long time.

Barracudas and their smaller compatriots do not escape the attention - especially those that are growing up. The predator is quite capable of catching and eating them, too, if they lose their vigilance, and therefore a lone hunting barracuda often needs to make sure that it itself is not attacked by another. And there is danger in a flock: if a barracuda is injured during a hunt and weakens, its fellow tribesmen can also tear it to pieces and eat it. In terms of bloodthirstiness and mercilessness, they are quite comparable to sharks, and do not have the same formidable reputation only because of their smaller size.

They are even capable of attacking even fish larger than themselves - in this case they attack in a flock and brutally bite living prey until it dies. Most often, massive fish that are already wounded and weakened by it are subjected to such attacks.

Barracuda feeding

The predator feeds on fish (its diet includes algae from coral reefs), large shrimp and squid. Sometimes large individuals can prey on smaller barracudas.

Since the fish is quite large in size, any marine creature that is smaller or, in some cases, even larger in size can be attacked and subsequently eaten by sea pike. An adult requires at least two kilograms of fish per day. The speed of a barracuda fish during a hunt can reach up to 60 km/h in 2 seconds.

Barracudas track their prey by hiding in sea thickets, among rocks and stones. Thanks to its unique coloring, a motionless fish can remain unnoticed for a long time by other creatures swimming past it. Sometimes they gather in small flocks and jointly attack schools.

As a rule, schools are formed by small and medium-sized individuals, while large fish prefer to be alone. Barracudas attack, moving at high speed and thanks to their incredibly strong jaws and sharp teeth, they tear off pieces of meat from the victim as they move.

The bite of a barracuda fish , which has an outstanding size, can cause significant harm to human health: according to some information, the fish can easily bite off any limb.

Before making an attack, groups of barracudas herd fish into a pile, and only after that they attack - thus, they greatly increase their chances of getting a satisfying meal. If the victim falls into the mouth of a barracuda, it does not have a single chance to survive, because the predator has high front teeth that nip in the bud, any attempts to free itself from its powerful jaws.

Barracuda has an extreme appetite, so in the process of searching for prey, it can even eat a poisonous sea creature - such spontaneous actions often provoke serious poisoning due to the large amount of toxins contained in the venom of the eaten prey, or even the death of the toothed predator.

Amazingly, sea pike can even feed on puffer fish, which are known for their ability to significantly increase in size when they feel threatened.

Such an extraordinary manifestation of the creature leads to the death of any attacker except the barracuda. If a sea pike tastes human flesh, this will also affect its health with severe poisoning.

The predatory barracuda fish very often attacks a person and inflicts a large number of wounds on him with incredibly sharp teeth. Since the injuries are torn in nature, during an attack a person experiences severe pain, and the injuries take a long time to heal not only due to the nature of the injuries inflicted, but also due to the associated inflammatory processes.

A barracuda bite provokes local bleeding, since the area of the wounds is quite significant. Approximately half of the victims of a sea pike attack die from heavy blood loss or from lack of strength to get to shallow water.

There is an opinion that the fish simply cannot thoroughly see the object of attack. Although such a statement is unlikely, because most barracudas resemble areas of a reservoir with dirty water.

Sea pike prefers to hunt fish with shiny scales that are colored silver or gold. Most of the accidents were caused by the presence of shiny objects on the divers' suits or sudden movements, which attracted the attention of the fish, as a result of which it decided to attack. Since such attacks occur mainly in dirty water, the barracuda fish mistakes the object for its daily prey.

Features of character and lifestyle

Photo: Barracuda fish in the Pacific Ocean

Most of the time, the barracuda simply swims or lurks in ambush, waiting for prey. It can be active both during the day and at night - it depends not on the time of day, but on the weather. In bad weather, when the sea is rough and becomes more aggressive, her appetite grows. If the storm is strong, it goes into shallow water and hides from the waves in the vegetation. It is more difficult to hunt in calm seas, since it is easier for the prey to notice it in advance. Therefore, when the day is clear and the sea is calm, the barracuda prefers to rest, and goes hunting only if this period drags on and it begins to feel hungry.

These fish usually do not pose a danger to humans - although a school of them may look threatening, because large fish are as long as a person, but they do not hunt people. True, sometimes attacks still occur: the cause may be muddy water, due to which the barracuda confuses a person with other inhabitants of the seas.

She can also attack a person if he behaves aggressively: he drives her into a corner or injures her. In such cases, she bites for protection, and is usually limited to one bite - if she manages to escape, she runs away. The injuries left by this fish are very dangerous due to the sharp teeth - they leave lacerations and damage blood vessels.

At the same time, if a person does not show aggression and the barracuda sees him well, it can be safely filmed at close range; it itself approaches people and examines them with curiosity. But behavior also depends on the species - for example, the yellow-tailed barracuda is timid.

Social structure and reproduction

Photo: Barracuda fish fry

Typically, barracudas live in schools, but they do not have any kind of hierarchy or complex social structure, and this is mainly necessary for joint hunting. Larger fish live alone. But even single fish gather in schools to reproduce. It has not yet been studied at what period of the year it occurs and what becomes a prerequisite for the beginning of this time.

Fertilization is external; eggs can range from 5,000 in young females to 300,000 in the largest and most mature ones. After fertilization, the parents are no longer interested in the fate of the eggs; they go free swimming. The fry at first stay close to the shore, and begin to hunt very soon, while still very small in size.

At first they stay in shallow water, but when they grow to 8-10 centimeters, they move further away. As they grow, they move further and further from the shore, and after reaching half a meter in size they can already swim in the open ocean and become formidable predators. In total, barracuda lives 8-14 years.

Interesting fact: From the very first expeditions of Europeans to the New World, the barracuda gained notoriety among them. Lord de Rochefort in 1665 described it as one of the most terrible monsters of the seas, violently rushing at people in the water and loving to feast on human flesh.

This idea of the barracuda, which arose primarily because of its formidable appearance, and supported by individual cases of attacks on people, lasted until the 20th century. To a certain extent, it is true, but still the stories about her bad temper and special attacks on people are a gross exaggeration.

Baracuda breeding

At present, scientists have still very little studied the process of reproduction of these underwater creatures. There is some evidence that their mating season begins in the spring. Females spawn eggs into the aquatic environment, after which the males fertilize them. Before birth, future barracuda fry swim freely in the water: barracuda eggs do not attach to aquatic plants or rocks.

After birth, the fry try to stay close to the shore. And vice versa, the older they get, the further and further they swim from the coastline into the sea.

Therefore, when going into the water you need to be extremely careful...

Natural enemies of barracuda fish

Photo: Barracuda fish

Barracuda has practically no opponents in nature who would purposefully hunt them - it is not found in the stomachs of even sharks and killer whales, which is why researchers believe that barracudas are not part of their diet. This is most likely due to the fact that they are very fast and much more difficult to catch than other fish. A much greater danger threatens caviar and young fish - there are a lot of people who want to feast on them in the sea, as a result of which a small part of already born barracudas survive to maturity. Most marine predators are able to feast on both caviar and barracuda fry.

But the latter quickly cease to be defenseless: already at the age of several weeks they are able to protect themselves from some predatory fish. In such a situation, only large predators remain a threat to them, and as they grow, fewer and fewer of them are able to threaten the young barracuda. When she becomes an adult, there are only two misfortunes left - humans and other barracudas. The latter show aggression mainly if they see a wounded fish, which can become easy prey; in other cases, they do not engage in fights even if they are larger.

Interesting fact: The barracuda needs to make a decision to attack in hundredths of a second, and in this it relies on vision, and therefore its attack can be provoked by shiny objects. If you remove them all before diving into the water, it is unlikely to show aggression.

You can completely avoid the risk if the water is clear - clearly seeing that there is a person in front of them, the barracudas do not try to attack him, and often at the same time do not show any fear, allowing themselves to be examined at close range. Only an awakened barracuda can show hostility - and this is understandable.