Yellowmouth Barracuda - Sphyraena viridensis - Eye to Eye with the School

Yellowmouth Barracuda pass at eye level through the blue water at Cirkewwa Reef, Malta, revealing their pointed heads and striking vertical flank bars.

The Yellowmouth Barracuda (Sphyraena viridensis) has a long, slender and fusiform body with a conical pointed snout, elongated mouth and projecting lower jaw armed with rows of sharp canine-like teeth. Its upper body is generally bluish-grey to greenish and becomes paler below, while numerous distinctive dark vertical bars cross the upper flanks and extend below the lateral line toward the front of the body. The two dorsal fins are widely separated and the deeply forked tail provides powerful propulsion for rapid swimming. Yellowmouth Barracuda are pelagic predators that feed mainly on fishes, together with cephalopods and crustaceans. They may occur individually or gather in coordinated schools in open coastal water and around reefs 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 a particularly close encounter with a school at Cirkewwa Reef in Malta, with several individuals passing almost at eye level and displaying their characteristic striped flanks in exceptional detail.