What is "thunnus"

Thunnus is a genus of ocean-dwelling ray-finned bony fish from the Scombridae ( Mackerel) family. More specifically, Thunnus is one of five genera which make up the Thunnini tribe – a tribe that is collectively known as the tunas. Also called the true tunas or real tunas, Thunnus consists of eight species of tuna (more than half of the overall tribe), divided into two subgenera. The word is the Middle Latin form of the – which is in turn derived from , "to rush; to dart". The first written use of the word was by Homer.

Their coloring, metallic blue on top and shimmering silver-white on the bottom, helps camouflage them from above and below. Atlantic bluefin tuna, the largest member of this genus, can grow to long and weigh up to . All tunas are extremely strong swimmers, and the Yellowfin tuna is known to reach speeds of up to when pursuing prey. As with all tunas, members of this genus are warm-blooded, which is a rare trait among fish; this enables them to tolerate cold waters. Bluefin tunas, for example, are found in Newfoundland and Iceland, and also in the tropical waters of the Gulf of Mexico and the Mediterranean Sea, where some individuals go each year to spawn.

Due to overfishing, the range of this genus has declined significantly, having been effectively removed from the Black Sea, for example.

Thunnus (Thunnus) is a subgenus of ray-finned bony fishes in the Thunnini, or tuna, tribe. More specifically, Thunnus (Thunnus) is a subgenus of the genus Thunnus, also known as the "true tunas". Thunnus (Thunnus) is sometimes referred to as the bluefin group, and comprises five species:

• T. alalunga (Bonnaterre, 1788) – albacore
• T. maccoyii ( Castelnau, 1872) – southern bluefin tuna
• T. obesus (Lowe, 1839) – bigeye tuna
• T. orientalis (Temminck and Schlegel, 1844) – Pacific bluefin tuna
• T. thynnus (Linnaeus, 1758) – Atlantic bluefin tuna

:{| class="wikitable" |- ! style="background-color: #D7F0FF; color:black;" colspan="9"| Thunnus (Thunnus) – the bluefin group of tunas |- ! style="width:12em" | Common name ! style="width:12em" | Scientific name ! Maximum
length ! Common
length ! Maximum
weight ! Maximum
age ! Trophiclevel ! Source ! style="width:13em" | IUCN status |- | Albacore tuna | T. alalunga( Bonnaterre, 1788) | style="text-align:right;"| | style="text-align:right;"| | style="text-align:right;"| | style="text-align:right;"| 9–13 yrs | style="text-align:center;"| 4.31 | style="text-align:center;"| | Near threatened |- | Southern bluefin tuna | T. maccoyii( Castelnau, 1872) | style="text-align:right;"| | style="text-align:right;"| | style="text-align:right;"| | style="text-align:right;"| 20–40 yrs | style="text-align:center;"| 3.93 | style="text-align:center;"| | Critically endangered |- | Bigeye tuna | T. obesus(Lowe, 1839) | style="text-align:right;"| | style="text-align:right;"| | style="text-align:right;"| | style="text-align:right;"| 5–16 yrs | style="text-align:center;"| 4.49 | style="text-align:center;"| | Vulnerable |- | Pacific bluefin tuna | T. orientalis( Temminck & Schlegel, 1844) | style="text-align:right;"| | style="text-align:right;"| | style="text-align:right;"| | style="text-align:right;"| 15–26 yrs | style="text-align:center;"| 4.21 | style="text-align:center;"| | Vulnerable |- | Atlantic bluefin tuna | T. thynnus( Linnaeus, 1758) | style="text-align:right;"| | style="text-align:right;"| | style="text-align:right;"| | style="text-align:right;"| 35–50 yrs | style="text-align:center;"| 4.43 | style="text-align:center;"| | Endangered |}