Higher Classification: > Kingdom Animalia > Subkingdom Eumetazoa > Phylum Chordata > Subphylum Vertebrata > Infraphylum Gnathostomata > Parvphylum Osteichthyes > Gigaclass Actinopterygii > Subclass Neopterygii > Class Teleostei > Order Elopiformes > Family Megalopidae > Genus Megalops

Megalops atlanticus Valenciennes, 1847

Rank: Species
Taxon Status: accepted

Relationships towards this taxon

Genus group names

*Megalops*	Lacepède, 1803	accepted genus name
*Tarpon*	Jordan & Evermann, 1896	synonym

Species group names

*Megalops atlantica*	Valenciennes, 1847	orthographic variant
*Tarpon atlanticus*	(Valenciennes, 1847)	synonym

Vernaculars (+) (-)

English: tarpon sources: North-West Atlantic Ocean species (NWARMS)

Spanish, Castillian: sábalo

Literature

original description	Cuvier, G.; Valenciennes, A. (1847). Histoire naturelle des poissons. Tome dix-neuvième. Suite du livre dix-neuvième. Brochets ou Lucioïdes. Livre vingtième. De quelques familles de Malacoptérygiens, intermédiaires entre les Brochets et les Clupes. 19: i-xix + 1-544 + 6 pp. Pls. 554-590.
basis of record	van der Land, J.; Costello, M.J.; Zavodnik, D.; Santos, R.S.; Porteiro, F.M.; Bailly, N.; Eschmeyer, W.N.; Froese, R. (2001). Pisces, in: Costello, M.J. et al. (Ed.) (2001). European register of marine species: a check-list of the marine species in Europe and a bibliography of guides to their identification. Collection Patrimoines Naturels, 50: pp. 357-374
additional source	Scott, W.B.; Scott, M.G. (1988). Atlantic fishes of Canada. Canadian Bulletin of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences. No. 219. 731 pp.
additional source	Froese, R. & D. Pauly (Editors). (2025). FishBase. World Wide Web electronic publication. version (06/2024).
additional source	Wade, R.A. 1969. Ecology of juvenile tarpon and effects of dieldrin on two associated species. Federal Water Pollution Control Administration, Washington, D.C. Technical Papers of the Bureau of Sport Fisheries and Wildlife: 41. 85 p.
additional source	Fricke, R., Eschmeyer, W. N. & Van der Laan, R. (eds). (2025). ECoF. Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes: Genera, Species, References. California Academy of Sciences. San Francisco. Electronic version accessed dd mmm 2025.
additional source	Welshman, D.; Kohler, S; Black, J.; and L. Van Guelpen. (2003). An atlas of distributions of Canadian Atlantic fishes.
additional source	McEachran, J. D. (2009). Fishes (Vertebrata: Pisces) of the Gulf of Mexico, Pp. 1223–1316 in: Felder, D.L. and D.K. Camp (eds.), Gulf of Mexico–Origins, Waters, and Biota. Biodiversity. Texas A&M Press, College Station, Texas.
ecology source	Looby, A.; Erbe, C.; Bravo, S.; Cox, K.; Davies, H. L.; Di Iorio, L.; Jézéquel, Y.; Juanes, F.; Martin, C. W.; Mooney, T. A.; Radford, C.; Reynolds, L. K.; Rice, A. N.; Riera, A.; Rountree, R.; Spriel, B.; Stanley, J.; Vela, S.; Parsons, M. J. G. (2023). Global inventory of species categorized by known underwater sonifery. Scientific Data. 10(1).

Genbank

External Links

FishBase
FishBase images (Megalops atlanticus, Cuba, by Furlan, B.)

Citation

Froese, R. and D. Pauly. Editors. (2025). FishBase. Megalops atlanticus Valenciennes, 1847. Via: Costello, M.J.; Bouchet, P.; Boxshall, G.; Arvantidis, C.; Appeltans, W. (2011) European Register of Marine Species, Accessed through PESI at http://www.eu-nomen.eu/portal/taxon.php?GUID=urn:lsid:marinespecies.org:taxname:126430