Yellowmouth Barracuda - Sphyraena viridensis - Packed School among the Wreckage

A tightly packed school of Yellowmouth Barracuda gathers among the structure of the Um El Faroud wreck in Malta, their striped bodies overlapping throughout the frame.

The Yellowmouth Barracuda (Sphyraena viridensis) has a long, slender and fusiform body with a pointed hydrodynamic snout, elongated mouth and projecting lower jaw armed with long canine-like teeth. The upper body is generally bluish-grey to greenish and becomes paler below, while numerous dark vertical bars mark the upper flanks and extend below the lateral line on the anterior part of the body. The two dorsal fins are widely separated and the deeply forked tail provides powerful propulsion for rapid movement through open water. Yellowmouth Barracuda are pelagic predators feeding mainly on fishes, together with cephalopods and crustaceans. They may be encountered alone but frequently gather into schools around reefs, drop-offs and underwater structures. The species occurs from the surface to about 100 metres depth and can reach approximately 128 centimetres in length. This photograph captures an unusually dense school holding close to the structure of the Um El Faroud wreck in Malta, with numerous individuals overlapping against the marine-covered remains of the ship.