Golden Trevally - Taxonomy and Phylogeny

Taxonomy and Phylogeny

The golden trevally is the only member of the monotypic genus Gnathanodon, which is one of the thirty genera in the jack and horse mackerel family Carangidae, a group of perciform fishes in the suborder Percoidei.

The species was scientifically described for the first time by the Swedish naturalist Peter Forsskål in 1775. Forsskål referred the species to the genus Scomber, where many jacks were placed before the recognition of the family Carangidae. The species is initially referred with two epithets; Scomber rim, speciosus in this publication; however the following page names it as Scomber speciosus with 'rim' given as a transcription of the species' Arabic name. Consequently, authorities regard Scomber rim as a junior synonym. Forsskål's description was based on an individual from the Red Sea off Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The holotype has since been lost and a neotype was invalidly designated by Ronald Fricke in 1999. The specific epithet speciosus is Latin for beautiful. The species was transferred to Caranx before the Dutch ichthyologist Pieter Bleeker placed it in its own genus Gnathanodon, with this name derived from the Latin for 'toothless jaws'. In addition to Forsskål's naming, seven other later names have been ascribed to the fish, with all of these now recognised as invalid junior synonyms under ICZN rules. The species common names generally refer to its appearance with 'golden trevally' (or kingfish), 'banded trevally' and 'king trevally' used. In Hawaii the species is referred to as the 'yellow ulua' or 'papio'.

A study on the phylogenetic relationships of the Carangidae based primarily on osteology by Soko Gushiken found that Gnathanodon is closely related to and forms a monophyletic group with Caranx. The species has yet to be included in any molecular phylogeny study of the family.