Trachurus
Jack mackerels are marine fish in the Trachurus genus of the Carangidae family. The name of the genus derives from the Greek words trachys ("rough") and oura ("tail"). Some species, such as T. murphyi, are harvested in purse seine nets, and overfishing (harvesting beyond sustainable levels) has sometimes occurred.
It is often used in Japanese cuisine, where it is called aji, and in Turkish cuisine, where it is called istavrit.
Species
The genus Trachurus was defined in 1810 by Constantine Samuel Rafinesque-Schmaltz, who called the type species Trachurus saurus. Taxonomists later determined that T. saurus was in fact the same species as one described earlier as Scomber trachurus, defined in 1758 by Carolus Linnaeus. Under the rules of binomial nomenclature, that species is now known as Trachurus trachurus, commonly known as the Atlantic horse mackerel.
The currently recognized species in this genus are:
Trachurus capensis Castelnau, 1861 (Cape horse mackerel)
Trachurus declivis (Jenyns, 1841) (greenback horse mackerel)
