The horse-eye jack has an elongated body that is laterally compressed and particularly hydrodynamic, allowing it to swim quickly in open water. Its coloration is mainly silvery with bluish or greenish reflections on the back.

The horse-eye jack is distinguished by its large eyes, which are the origin of its common name, as well as by its deeply forked tail adapted for rapid acceleration. The fins may show yellowish to dark tones depending on age and environment. Juveniles often have dark vertical bands that gradually disappear in adults.

The horse-eye jack measures on average around 24 inches in length, but some individuals can reach up to 3.3 feet in length.

The horse-eye jack mainly inhabits the tropical and subtropical waters of the western Atlantic ocean, from the coasts of New Jersey and Bermuda down to southern Brazil, including the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean sea.

Populations are also observed in certain regions of the eastern Atlantic, particularly near the Gulf of Guinea and some tropical oceanic islands such as Ascension island.

The horse-eye jack mainly inhabits warm, clear coastal waters. Adults are often found near coral reefs, rocky drop-offs, and in open water from the surface down to depths of over 330 feet.

Juveniles prefer sheltered areas such as lagoons, seagrass beds, sandy bottoms, and sometimes brackish estuaries. The horse-eye jack can form large mobile schools that move around reefs in search of food.

The horse-eye jack is an active predator whose diet mainly consists of small fish, crustaceans such as shrimp, and various marine invertebrates.

The horse-eye jack often hunts in groups to increase the efficiency of attacks on schools of fish. Thanks to its speed and developed vision, it is able to catch fast-moving prey in open water around reefs.

The horse-eye jack is oviparous. Adults gather in large schools, generally during the warmest periods of the year. Eggs and sperm are released directly into open water, where fertilization takes place. The fertilized eggs then drift in ocean currents before hatching into larvae.

The young fish then move into protected coastal areas where they continue their growth before moving to reefs and deeper waters as adults.

The horse-eye jack is listed as many other marine species within The IUCN Red List of threatened species. The horse-eye jack appears in the IUCN Red List since 2019 within the category Least Concern !