teeth, although the anterior teeth may be conical in shape. The gill rakers number eight to 12 on the upper limb and 21 to 27 on the lower limb of the first gill arch. The species has 24 vertebrae, 10 upper and 14 lower. The dorsal fin is divided into two segments; a short, high fin containing eight spines and a second, long fin consisting of one spine followed by 20 to 23 soft rays. The anal fin has 2 detached spines followed by a single spine connected to 17 to 19 soft rays. The lateral line has a moderate anterior curve before, intersecting the straight section between the twelfth and fourteenth soft rays of the second dorsal fin. The straight section of the lateral line contains 19 to 36 weak scutes, and 31 to 55 combined scutes and scales on the entire line. The breast area of the fish is devoid of any scales, reaching from each pectoral fin back to the pelvic fin and occasionally to the origin of the anal fin. The species reaches a maximum known length , although is much more common below . The colour of the Malabar trevally is usually a silver overlain by a bluish-grey hue on the upper side of the fish fading to a silvery white on the underside and lower flanks. The opercle has a single small black spot on the upper margin, and the tongue is a distinctive greyish brown to brown. The caudal fin, soft dorsal and anal fins are pale greenish yellow to dusky, while other fins are hyaline in appearance. The tips of the dorsal, anal and caudal fins are occasionally edged in a shade of white. Distribution and habitat The Malabar trevally is broadly distributed in the tropical and subtropical regions of the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It occurs from South Africa and Madagascar in the west, north along the east African coast and into the Persian Gulf, but has not been recorded from the Red Sea since 1860, where a capture was reported under the name Caranx malabaricus. Its range stretches east to Sri Lanka, Thailand, Indonesia, and a number of small Pacific islands including Vanuatu and New Caledonia. It reaches as far north as Japan, and south to northern Australia. The species is rare in a number of Pacific nations, including Taiwan and Japan, with only a few recorded captures. The species