Atlantic Tarpon

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Atlantic tarpon evolved approximately 18 million years ago and are one of the oldest living fish. A tarpon is capable of filling its swim bladder with air, like a primitive lung. This gives it a predatory advantage when oxygen levels in the water are low. In appearance, it is greenish or bluish on top and silver on the sides. The large mouth is turned upwards and the lower jaw contains an elongated, bony plate. The last ray of the dorsal fin is much longer than the others, reaching nearly to the tail.

It has been recorded at up to 2.5 m (8 ft 2 in) in length and weighing up to 161 kg (355 lb). Males rarely weigh more than 100 pounds.

However, large tarpons may still be able to put a bit of force behind their bites which may make them hurt.

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The diet of the Atlantic tarpon changes as the fish grows with those in the leptocephalus stage absorbing nutrients directly from the water, those in the juvenile stage eating zooplankton and other small prey, and adults primarily consuming fish, crabs, and shrimp.

While tarpon have teeth, they are not considered dangerous to humans. They have small, densely packed teeth, but these are not sharp and are not used for biting or chewing. Tarpon are primarily filter feeders that swallow their prey whole. Though they can cause injury if they thrash around and strike a person, especially when caught and released, they are not venomous or known to bite humans. 

The Atlantic tarpon's most significant predators are sharks, orcas, marlins, American crocodiles, and humans.

Very little is known about the tarpon's migratory and geographic range because they are not an economically valuable food fish. Both sides of the Atlantic Ocean are home to them. From Senegal to the Congo, their distribution in the eastern Atlantic has been consistently confirmed. The majority of tarpons that live in the western Atlantic occupy warmer coastal waters, mostly in the West Indies, Florida, and the Gulf of Mexico. Anglers do, however, frequently catch them near Cape Hatteras, as well as in Nova Scotia, Bermuda, and Argentina to the south. The Mississippi River Delta separates two different populations in the Gulf of Mexico.

Atlantic tarpon are highly migratory and often cross international boundaries. This introduces challenges in management and conservation. Scientific studies indicate schools have routinely migrated through the Panama Canal from the Atlantic to the Pacific and back for over 80 years.

• Movement Pattern: Full Migrant

• Individual Type: Solo/Group

• Population Trend: Decreased

• Population: ugh

• Locomotion: Aquatic

• Habitat: Warm Littoral; Cold Littoral; Warm Intertidal; Cold Intertidal; Kelp Forest; Pelagic Zone (Warm); Pelagic Zone (Cold).

• Earth: 

  • Extant (Resident): Angola; Anguilla; Antigua and Barbuda; Aruba; Bahamas; Barbados; Belize; Benin; Bermuda; Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba; Brazil; Cameroon; Cayman Islands; Colombia; Congo; Congo, The Democratic Republic of the; Costa Rica; Cuba; Curaçao; Côte d'Ivoire; Dominica; Dominican Republic; Equatorial Guinea; French Guiana; Gabon; Gambia; Ghana; Grenada; Guadeloupe; Guatemala; Guinea; Guinea-Bissau; Guyana; Haiti; Honduras; Ireland; Jamaica; Liberia; Martinique; Mauritania; Mexico; Montserrat; Namibia; Nicaragua; Nigeria; Panama; Portugal; Puerto Rico; Saint Barthelemy; Saint Kitts and Nevis; Saint Lucia; Saint Martin (French part); Saint Vincent and the Grenadines; Sao Tome and Principe; Senegal; Sierra Leone; Sint Maarten (Dutch part); Suriname; Togo; Trinidad and Tobago; Turks and Caicos Islands; United States; Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of; Virgin Islands, British; Virgin Islands, U.S.

• Berbania/Hirawhassa: 

  • Extant & Introduced (Resident): none

• Reinachos/Ityosel: 

  • Extant & Introduced (Resident): none

• Thatrollwa/Delphia: 

  • Extant & Introduced (Resident): none

• Sawintir/Everrealm: 

  • Extant & Introduced (Resident): none

Coming soon

Coming soon

Past and Present Incidents - Individuals

• Terran/Gaian

  • n/a

• Berbanian/Hirawhassan

  • n/a

• Reinachos/Ityoselese

  • n/a

• Delphian/Thatrollwan

  • n/a

• Sawintiran

  • n/a 

• Jotunheim

  • n/a

The Recollections of Queen Arianna - Individuals

• Terran/Gaian

  • n/a

• Berbanian/Hirawhassan

  • n/a

• Reinachos/Ityoselese

  • n/a

• Delphian/Thatrollwan

  • n/a

• Sawintiran

  • n/a

• Jotunheim

  • n/a

See also: none

• Coming soon

• Deutsch: Atlantischer Tarpun

• English: Atlantic tarpon

• Bahasa Indonesia: Bulan-bulan

• Nihongo: ターポン

• Nederlands: Tarpoen

• Tagalog: Buan-buan

• Thai: ปลาแอตแลนติกทาร์ปอน

• Coming soon

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlantic_tarpon

• https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlantic_tarpon

• https://species.wikimedia.org/wiki/Megalops_atlanticus

• https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Megalops_atlanticus/

• https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/191823/174796143

• https://www.deviantart.com/ognimdo2002/art/Atlantic-Tarpon-1137869427