Any one of several species of large oceanic fishes belonging to the mackerel family
Scombridae, especially the
bluefin tuna (
Thunnus thynnus, formerly
Orcynus thynnus [or]
Albacora thynnus), called also the
common tunny or
great tunny, a native of the Mediterranean Sea and of temperate parts of the Atlantic Ocean. It sometimes weighs a thousand pounds or more, and is caught commercially in large quantity for use as food; -- also called, especially in Britain,
tunny. It is also one of the favorite fishes used by the Japanese in preparing sushi. On the American coast, especially in New England, it is sometimes called the
horse mackerel. Another well-known species is the
yellowfin tuna (
Thunnus albacares) of warm seas. the See
Illust. of
Horse mackerel, under
Horse.
(Zool.) Also: common tunny, great tunny, tunny, horse mackerel See: Horse