Fish
Atlantic bluefin tuna
Thunnus thynnus
One of the fastest fish in the ocean, able to keep its muscles warmer than the surrounding water to cross the Atlantic during its migrations.
🗺️ Geographic range
The Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea, with distinct populations migrating between spawning and feeding grounds.
📊 Population
After being listed as "endangered" in the 2010s, the Atlantic population recovered enough for the IUCN to reclassify the species as least concern in 2021 — one of the rare success stories of large-scale fisheries management.
Habitat
- Atlantic Ocean · High seas / open water · Epipelagic zone · Migration
- Mediterranean Sea · High seas / open water · Epipelagic zone · Migration
Behaviour
- Diet
- Herring, mackerel, squid and occasionally lanternfish during deep dives.
- Hunting
- Hunts in high-speed groups, encircling schools of small fish.
- Reproduction
- Spawns in warm water, laying clutches that can reach several million eggs.
Physiology
- Anatomy
- A streamlined, hydrodynamic body with retractable fins to reduce drag.
- Adaptations
- Regional endothermy: warms its muscles, eyes and brain above water temperature, rare among fish.
🔗 Web of marine life
Competitors
⚡ Its extraordinary abilities
- Can keep its muscle temperature above that of the surrounding water (regional endothermy)
- Top speed among the highest of all bony fish
🏆 Records
Among the highest auction prices ever paid for a fish
A single specimen sold for several hundred thousand euros at the Tokyo fish market.
Source: Ifremer
If you cross paths with this animal…
Risk: No danger to humans.
Behaviour: Wary, naturally avoids divers.
Advice: A historically overfished species: choose certified sustainably-sourced tuna.
💡 Did you know?
- Can cross the entire Atlantic Ocean during its annual migrations.
- A single specimen once sold at a Tokyo auction for several hundred thousand euros.