The golden trevally is the only member of the monotypic genus Gnathanodon, which is one of the thirty genera in the jack and horse mackerel family Carangidae, a group of perciform fishes in the suborder Percoidei [REF].
A study on the phylogenetic relationships of the Carangidae-based primarily on osteology by Soko Gushiken found that Gnathanodon is closely related to and forms a monophyletic group with Caranx [REF].