Sealife guideThe yellowfin tunaThunnus albacares

Last updated on 01/26/2026 at 11:55 PM

Le thon jaune ou thon albacore (Thunnus albacares) © Allnaturalbeth | Dreamstime.com

Taxonomy

Common name: Yellowfin tuna
French name: Thon jaune, thon albacore
Scientific name: Thunnus albacares (Bonnaterre, 1788)
Family name: Scombridae
Order name: Perciformes
Class name: Actinopterygii

Description

Yellowfin tuna is more commonly known as albacore tuna. Albacore tuna is a fish with a torpedo-shaped body, a dark metallic blue back, yellow flanks, and a silvery belly.

The yellowfin tuna (Thunnus albacares) © Tom Wang | Dreamstime.com

Its anal and dorsal fins are very long and bright yellow in color, as are all of its fins.

Yellowfin tuna can reach a maximum length of about 6.9 feet and a maximum weight of approximately 441 pounds.

Geographic range

Albacore tuna is found in the waters of the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian oceans. Yellowfin tuna is a migratory fish that travels long distances across the world's oceans.

Habitat

Albacore tuna is a pelagic fish found at depths reaching approximately 820 feet. Yellowfin tuna form schools by size and also associate with other tuna species. Schools sometimes form in association with floating objects at the surface.

Juvenile tuna form schools with other juvenile tuna species such as skipjack tuna and striped bonito, as well as the bigeye tuna in shallow waters.

Diet

Albacore tuna is a carnivorous fish and a formidable predator that hunts other fish, squids, and crustaceans.

Its main predators include marine mammals, larger fish such as marlins, swordfish, and sailfish, as well as sharks and seabirds that feed on tuna at different stages of their growth.

Reproduction

Most albacore tuna reach reproductive maturity at around 2 years of age. Spawning occurs year-round in tropical waters and seasonally in subtropical waters.

In tropical waters, females spawn almost daily. Spawning takes place almost entirely at night. Females can produce more than 0.2 to 8 million eggs per spawning event depending on their size.

Did you know ?

Albacore tuna has been listed on the IUCN Red List as a Near Threatened species since 2011.

Within the same genus

Bigeye tuna
(Thunnus obesus)

Within the same family

Atlantic mackerel
(Scomber scombrus)

Dogtooth tuna
(Gymnosarda unicolor)

Indian mackerel
(Rastrelliger kanagurta)

Skipjack tuna
(Katsuwonus pelamis)

Discover also

Bigeye trevally
(Caranx sexfasciatus)

Jansen's wrasse
(Thalassoma jansenii)

Kole tang
(Ctenochaetus strigosus)

Lined rabbitfish
(Siganus lineatus)

Nassau grouper
(Epinephelus striatus)

Orange spotted prawn goby
(Amblyeleotris guttata)

Spanish hogfish
(Bodianus rufus)

Yellow blotch angelfish
(Pomacanthus maculosus)

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