Bonito
Atlantic bonito, Sarda sarda
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Scombriformes
Family:	Scombridae
Subfamily:	Scombrinae
Tribe:	Sardini Jordan and Evermann, 1896
Genera
Cybiosarda (Whitley, 1935) Gymnosarda Gill, 1862 Orcynopsis Gill, 1862 Sarda (Cuvier, 1832)

Bonitos are a tribe of medium-sized, ray-finned predatory fish in the family Scombridae – a family it shares with the mackerel, tuna, and Spanish mackerel tribes, and also the butterfly kingfish.^[1] Also called the tribe Sardini, it consists of eight species across four genera; three of those four genera are monotypic, having a single species each. Bonitos closely resemble the skipjack tuna, which is often called a bonito, especially in Japanese contexts.

Etymology

The fish's name comes from the Spanish bonito 'pretty'.^[2][3] An older theory suggests that it comes from an Arabic word bainīth, but that may have been derived from Spanish as well.^[4]

Species

• Genus Sarda (Cuvier, 1832)
  • Australian bonito, S. australis (Macleay, 1881)
  • Sarda chiliensis (Cuvier, 1832)
    • Eastern Pacific bonito, S. c. chiliensis (Cuvier, 1832)
    • Pacific bonito, S. c. lineolata (Girard, 1858)
  • Striped bonito, S. orientalis (Temminck & Schlegel, 1844)
  • Atlantic bonito, S. sarda (Bloch, 1793)
• Genus Cybiosarda (Whitley, 1935)
  • Leaping bonito, C. elegans (Whitley, 1935)
• Genus Gymnosarda Gill, 1862
  • Dogtooth tuna, G. unicolor (Rüppell, 1836)
• Genus Orcynopsis Gill, 1862
  • Plain bonito, O. unicolor (Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 1817)

Food

Pacific and Atlantic bonito meat has a firm texture and a darkish color. The bonito has a moderate fat content. The meat of young or small bonito can be of light color, close to that of skipjack tuna, and is sometimes used as a cheap substitute for skipjack, especially for canning purposes, and occasionally in the production of cheap varieties of katsuobushi that are sold as bonito flakes. ^[5] Bonito may not, however, be marketed as tuna in all countries. The Atlantic bonito is also found in the Mediterranean and the Black Sea, where it is a popular food fish, eaten grilled, pickled (lakerda), or baked.^[6][7]