📸 PhotoPhoto: OAR/National Undersea Research Program (NURP) · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons Source
Yellowfin tuna
Thunnus albacares (Yellowfin tuna · キハダ)
💡 Everyday Comparisons for Size, Mass & Speed
- 💡 Its maximum weight of 200 kg is equal to ten 20 kg bags of rice (Comparison).
- 💡 Its maximum fork length of 2.39 m is slightly over half the length of a passenger car (about 4.5 m) (Comparison).
- 💡 It is sold fresh, frozen, canned, and smoked, and is highly prized for sashimi (FishBase).
Reference standards: coach bus ~12 m, mid-size car ~4.9 m, compact car ~1 t, basketball hoop 3.05 m, credit card 8.56 cm.
Site-computed relative index from recorded values; not a formal scientific metric.
📖 1. Overview
The yellowfin tuna is a large tuna living in the open waters of tropical and subtropical seas worldwide. It schools by size, and large individuals sometimes travel alongside harbor porpoises.
🦴 2. Anatomy & Morphology
Its body is an elongated spindle shape, dark blue on the back grading through yellow to a silver belly. Its dorsal fins, anal fin, and finlets are bright yellow.
🔍 3. Ecology & Behavior
It feeds on fish, crustaceans, and squid, and because it is sensitive to low oxygen levels, it rarely goes deeper than 250 m in the tropics. It spawns in batches during summer, and its eggs and larvae float in the water.
🇰🇷 4. Connection to Korea
It is listed on the National List of Species of Korea as "Hwangdarangeo" (Korean name).
📚 Sources & References
- • IUCN Red List LC (2021) — https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/21857/46624561
- • IUCN Red List category LC — latest assessment at iucnredlist.org
- • catalogueoflife.org — 56P6S
- • iucnredlist.org — 46624561
- • 국가생물종목록(국립생물자원관) ktsn 120000059175 — https://species.nibr.go.kr/home/mainHome.do?cont_link=009&subMenu=009002&contCd=009002&ktsn=120000059175
- • wikidata.org — Q269781
- • commons.wikimedia.org — File:Yellowfin tuna nurp.jpg
- • fishbase.se — Thunnus-albacares.html
- • Silhouette: PhyloPic — author not recorded · CC0 1.0
Recorded dimensions are widely cited representative estimates from public literature and may vary by study or specimen.