Cortez Barracuda, Sphyraena lucasana

Cortez Barracuda, Sphyraena lucasana. Fish caught in a cast net in coastal waters off Puerto Adolfo Lopez Mateos, Baja California Sur, June 2017. Length: 30 cm (12 inches).

Cortez Barracuda, Sphyraena lucasana. Fish provided by the commercial fishermen of the Greater Los Cabos area, Baja California Sur, March 2010. Length: 44 cm (17 inches).

The Cortez Barracuda, Sphyraena lucasana, is a member of the Barracuda or Sphyraenidae Family, and is known in Mexico as barracuda de Cortés. Globally, there are twenty-six species in the genus Sphyraena, of which eight are found in Mexican waters, three in the Atlantic and five in the Pacific Ocean.

The Cortez Barracuda has an overall barracuda-like appearance and predominant silver coloration with black markings, which include a modest lateral line and chevron markings along the sides. Their caudal fin is gray with dark margins. Their head and snout are long and a large lower jaw is protruding and the mouth has many long sharp-edged teeth of unequal size. Their anal fin has 2 spines and 8 or 9 rays and is small and similar in size and located directly under the second dorsal fin; their caudal fin is deeply forked; their first dorsal fin has 5 spines and is widely separated from the second which has 1 spine and 9 rays; their pectoral fins have 16 rays (a key to the identification) and are small; and, their pelvic fins are small with 1 spine and 5 rays and are inserted behind the pectoral fins and under the first dorsal fin. They have 1 or 2 gills with short spines. They are covered with smooth scales. Their lateral line is well developed.

The Cortez Barracuda reach a maximum of 76 cm (2 feet 6 inches) in length. They are a coastal pelagic species found at depths up to 23 m (75 feet). The Cortez Barracuda is poorly studied with very limited information available about their lifestyle and behavioral patterns including specific details on age, growth, longevity, movement patterns, diet, habitat use, and reproduction.

The Cortez Barracuda is a resident of Mexican waters of the Pacific Ocean but has a limited distribution being found between from Guerrero Negro, Baja California, southward along the central and southwest coasts of Baja and in the lower three-fourths of the Sea of Cortez.

The Cortez Barracuda can be confused with the Blackfin Barracuda, Sphyraena qenie (dark anal, caudal and dorsal fins, 13 pectoral fin rays, pelvic fins inserted under the pectoral fins and before the first dorsal fin), the Mexican Barracuda, Sphyraena ensis (gray caudal fin, 13 pectoral fin rays, pelvic fins inserted under the tips of the pectoral fins and before the first dorsal fin), the Pacific Barracuda, Sphyraena argentea (yellow caudal fin, 16 pectoral fin rays, pelvic fins inserted behind the pectoral fins and before the first dorsal fin), and the Pelican Barracuda, Sphyraena idiastes (gray caudal fin with dark edges, 13 pectoral fin rays, pelvic fins inserted behind the pectoral fins and under the first dorsal fin).

From a conservation perspective the Cortez Barracuda is currently listed as Data Deficient and has not been formally evaluated. They are considered to be a rare species that are viewed by locals to be of poor food value.