Home
>
Fish
>
Military Barracuda

Military Barracuda

Sphyraena Putnamiae

Quick Facts

Scientific nameSphyraena Putnamiae

Other namesChevron Barracuda, Military Sea Pike, Military Sea Pike, Sawtooth Barracuda

FamilyBarracuda / Sphyraenidae

Distribution

Habitat & AU DistributionSeaward reefs, bays & turbid lagoons

The Military Barracuda is a long, slender predator that can grow to about 90 cm. Most of the ones you encounter are closer to 60 cm.
It lives across a wide stretch of the Indo-Pacific, from the Red Sea and East Africa through to New Caledonia and Vanuatu, and north as far as southern Japan. In Australia, it turns up across tropical and subtropical coastal waters.
This is a reef fish that likes action. It tends to gather around current-swept seaward reefs and lagoon edges where the water moves.
Military Barracudas also turn up in bays and murky inshore lagoons, showing they can handle murkier, calmer water as well as open reef edges.
They stick to fairly shallow water, usually found somewhere between 3 and 20 m deep.
During the day, Military Barracudas often gather into schools, sometimes quite large ones. This is when they are easiest to spot around reef drop-offs.
At night the picture changes. They are thought to spread out and become active hunters, searching for smaller fish in the dark.
One of the most striking things about this species is its markings. A series of dark chevron-shaped bands crosses the body, giving the fish a bold, almost military-looking pattern.
The tail fin is mostly black, which makes it easy to pick out when the fish turns or darts away.
Like other barracudas, the Military Barracuda has a long jaw lined with sharp teeth, built for seizing slippery prey rather than grinding it down.
Barracudas as a group are known to gather in large numbers at spawning time and move to specific areas to breed. The Military Barracuda is thought to follow the same pattern.
The species can be tricky to tell apart from a couple of close relatives, particularly the Blackfin Barracuda and the Pickhandle Barracuda. The chevron markings and mostly black tail are the clues to look for.

Species Interaction

Military Barracuda: A Reef Predator Divers Encounter in Schools

Snorkelling & Diving
Research & Rare Encounters
Ecosystem Role

The Military Barracuda is a schooling species found across tropical Indo-Pacific reefs, and divers and snorkellers occasionally encounter it in northern Australian waters. Like other barracudas it may be taken incidentally in coastal and reef fisheries, though it is not a primary target species. Its close resemblance to the Blackfin and Pickhandle Barracudas means it is frequently misidentified, making it of genuine interest to researchers and taxonomists working on the Sphyraena genus in Australian waters.

Species
Sustainability

Scientific Classification

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Teleostei
Order: Carangaria incertae sedis
Family: Sphyraenidae
Genus: Sphyraena
Species: Sphyraena putnamiae

Conservation Status

The Military Barracuda has not been assessed by the IUCN Red List, and it holds no listing under Australia’s EPBC Act. As a relatively poorly documented barracuda species that is frequently confused with close relatives such as the Pickhandle Barracuda, its population status and trend remain unknown.