EuropeLeast concern
Atlantic bluefin tuna
Thunnus thynnus
A huge, fast fish that crosses the Atlantic and comes into the Mediterranean to lay its eggs.
- Weight
- Up to 680 kg
- Size
- Up to 3 m long
- Lifespan
- About 40 years
- Top speed
- 70 km/h in bursts
- Diet
- Fish and squid
How heavy is that?
As heavy as 17 kids (40 kg each)
Where it lives
Three things to know
- It is warm-bodied: its muscles stay warmer than the sea.
- It can swim across the whole Atlantic Ocean.
- Fishing limits helped it recover: Endangered until 2021, Least concern since.
Compare with…
- Weight
- Atlantic bluefin tuna680 kgA 10-year-old kid40 kgThe bluefin tuna weighs about 17× as much as the kid
- Size
- Atlantic bluefin tuna3 mA 10-year-old kid1.4 mThe bluefin tuna is about 2.1× as big as the kid
- Top speed
- Atlantic bluefin tuna70 km/hA 10-year-old kid20 km/hThe bluefin tuna is about 4× as fast as the kid
- Lifespan
- Atlantic bluefin tuna40 yrsA 10-year-old kid80 yrsThe kid can live about 2× as long as the bluefin tuna
Food chain
- Tiny algaeProducer
- Small fish
Atlantic bluefin tunaThis animal- Orca