Pickhandle Barracuda - Sphyraena jello - Silver School in Tropical Blue

A large school of Pickhandle Barracuda moves through the blue water outside Pattaya, Thailand, their slender silver bodies and dark vertical bars catching the underwater light.

The Pickhandle Barracuda (Sphyraena jello) has a long, slender and streamlined body with an elongated pointed head, large mouth and projecting lower jaw equipped with sharp predatory teeth. Its body is predominantly silvery, with a series of dark bars crossing the flanks; these markings are oblique on the upper body and become more vertical below, extending across the lateral line. The deeply forked caudal fin is typically yellowish, while the two dorsal fins are widely separated. This Indo-West Pacific barracuda inhabits coastal waters, reefs, bays, estuaries and turbid lagoons and is particularly well represented in the Gulf of Thailand. Adults are often solitary, while younger individuals may gather in schools. Pickhandle Barracuda feed predominantly on fishes, with squid also forming part of their diet, and can reach approximately 150 centimetres in total length. This photograph captures a large group moving together through open blue water outside Pattaya, Thailand, creating layers of slender silver silhouettes across the tropical seascape.