Barracuda

A barracuda is a long, cylindrical, silvery fish. It has two widely separated dorsal fins, in roughly the same location as the two fins on its belly, and a forked tail. The largest species, the great barracuda, seldom grows longer than 6.5 ft (2 m) and is an aggressive fearsome predator of other fish. All barracudas have an underhung jaw that houses long, incredibly sharp teeth; their teeth are conically shaped, are larger in the front, like fangs, and their horizontal mouths can open very wide. In general, the barracuda inhabits tropical and warmer temperate waters throughout the world, specifically in the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans. Different species of barracuda thrive in a variety of specific habitats but they are common over reefs and near continental shelves. Barracudas have been known to attack humans.

Barracudas are classified in the order Perciformes, an incredibly diverse group, containing 18 suborders and nearly 7,000 species of fish. Barracudas are the only fish in the suborder Sphyraenoidei and in the family Sphyraenidae. Within their family, there is one genus, Sphyraena, with 20 species.