Needlescaled Queenfish

The Needlescaled Queenfish (Scomberoides tol), also referred to as the Slender Queenfish, Needleskin Queenfish, and Slender Leatherskin, is a tropical game fish belonging to the family Carangidae.

Scomberoides tol exhibits a bluish-green to bluish-grey coloration on its dorsal side, transitioning to a silvery-white ventral surface. The species is characterized by 5-8 vertically oval black spots along its flanks, with the anterior 4-5 spots overlapping the lateral line. The fish's dorsal fin lobe is black, while the anterior lobe of the anal fin is white. In juveniles, the flank spots may be faint or absent. The body is strongly compressed, oblong, and elliptical, with similarly convex dorsal and ventral profiles. In adult specimens, the upper mandible reaches the rear margin of the pupil. The posterior dorsal and anal fins consist of semi-attached finlets. This species reaches a maximum recorded length of 60 centimeters (24 inches), with a common length of 40 centimeters.

Scomberoides tol is distributed throughout the Indo-West Pacific, ranging from 🇿🇦 South Africa northward to the 🌊 Persian Gulf, including the 🌊 Red Sea and Socotra (🇾🇪 Yemen), and extending east into the western Pacific as far as 🇹🇴 Tonga and the Marquesas. In its eastern range, it extends north to southern 🇯🇵 Japan and south to the Exmouth Gulf in Western Australia and Queensland in eastern 🇦🇺 Australia. It typically inhabits depths of 20 to 50 meters.

This coastal fish is commonly found in estuaries and inshore waters, often forming small schools of adults near the surface. Adult Scomberoides tol are predatory, feeding on other fish, while juveniles possess specialized rasping teeth and feed on the scales and skin of other species. Notably, members of the genus Scomberoides may possess venomous spines in their dorsal and anal fins.

Scomberoides tol is a sought-after species in both commercial and recreational fisheries. It is captured using drift set nets, gill nets, seines, and hook-and-line methods across its range. The fish is primarily sold fresh, and in some regions, it is also utilized as bait.

The International Game Fish Association (IGFA) all-tackle world record for this species is 1.02 kg (2 lbs 4 oz), achieved in the Bazaruto Archipelago of 🇲🇿 Mozambique in 2008.