Fish

Brassy Kingfish

Caranx papuensis

A brassy to yellow-green trevally with a bright pale spot on the shoulder, a seaward reef species that ventures into estuaries as a juvenile.

Also known as brons koningvis

Brassy Kingfish
Photo: Mark Rosenstein · CC BY-NC 4.0
Typical size
Attains 80 cm
Habitat
Seaward reefs, juveniles in estuaries

The brassy kingfish is brassy to yellowish-green above and silvery below, with a conspicuous pale spot on the shoulder just behind the gill cover and small black spots scattered over the head and body above the lateral line; the upper tail lobe is uniformly dark. It reaches about 80 cm.

It is predominantly a seaward reef species, rare in truly offshore areas, though juveniles are taken in estuaries. It ranges from Port Alfred northward to Zanzibar and across the Indo-Pacific, and is an active, hard-fighting gamefish.