Galapagos Species Database

The Galapagos Species Database shares the information about the species from our Natural History Collections.

Alectis ciliaris (Bloch, 1787)

pámpano africano, African pompano

Silvery, often with bluish or greenish tints: scales not obvious. Compressed body, deeply forked tail. Diamond-shaped juveniles trail long thread-like filaments from dorsal and anal fins: mature, filaments usually become progr Up to 1.25m

Habitat: Young fish are pelagic, adults usually solitary, near the bottom to depths of at least 60m.

Taxonomy

Domain
Eukaryota

Kingdom
Animalia

Phylum
Chordata

Class
Teleostei

Order
Carangiformes

Family
Carangidae

Genus
Alectis

Species
ciliaris

Taxon category: Accepted

Syn.: Alectis breviventralis Wakiya, 1924, Alectis crinitus (Mitchill, 1826), Alectis indica (Cuvier, 1833), Alectis temmincki Wakiya, 1924, Blepharichthys crinitus (Mitchill, 1826), Blepharis ciliaris (Bloch, 1787), Blepharis crinitus (Mitchill, 1826), Blepharis fasciatus Rüppell, 1830, Blepharis indicus Cuvier, 1833, Blepharis major Cuvier, 1833, Blepharis sutor Cuvier, 1833, , Carangoides ajax Snyder, 1904, Gallus virescens Lacepède, 1802, Hynnis cubensis Poey, 1860, Hynnis hopkinsi Jordan & Starks, 1895, Scyris analis Poey, 1868, Zeus ciliaris Bloch, 1787, Zeus crinitus Mitchill, 1826, Zeus gallus Linnaeus, 1758 (synonym), fide Appeltans et al. (2010)

Origin: Native

Status

Least concern

Distribution

Distribution: Indo-Pacific; in the eastern Pacific from the region of Mazatlan, Mexico to Panama and Ecuador in Galápagos. Circumtropical, Southern Baja to Ecuador, Revillegados, Galápagos, Cocos and Malpello.

References

  • Grove, J.S. Lavenberg, R.J. (1997) The Fishes of the Galapagos Islands. Stanford University Press, Stanford California. 862 pp.
  • Humann, P. Deloach, N. (2003) Reef Fish Identification - Galapagos. New World Publication, Inc. Florida USA & Libri Mundi, Quito, Ecuador, 226 pp.
  • Appeltans, W. Bouchet, P., Boxshall, G.A., Fauchald, K., Gordon, D.P., Hoeksema, B.W., Poore, G.C.B., van Soest, R.W.M., Stöhr, S., Walter, T.C., Costello, M.J. (eds.) (2010) World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS). Available online at http://www.marinespecies.org.
  • McCosker, J.E. Rosenblatt, R.H. (2010) The fishes of the Galápagos Archipelago: an update. Proc. Calif. Acad. Sc., Ser. 4, vol. 61, Suppl. II, no. 11: 167-195.
  • Constant, P. (2007) Marine Life of the Galapagos. The Diver's guide to Fishes, Whales, Dolphins and marine Invertebrates, 307 pp.
  • IUCN (2023) The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2022-2 Https://www.iucnredlist.org

You are welcome to download and use the information found in this page, acknowledging its source.

This page should be cited as follows:

"Galapagos Species Database, Alectis ciliaris", dataZone. Charles Darwin Foundation, https://datazone.darwinfoundation.org/en/checklist/?species=7732. Accessed 13 September 2025.