Megalaspis cordyla as one of the shoaling commercially important pelagic fish in the Northwest coast of India. The study on food and feeding habits of this fish revealed that it is predominantly a carnivorous species feeding primarily on sergestied shrimps like Acetes indicus and small fishes such as Stolephorus species. In addition it feeds on juveniles of Trichiurus, Apogon, Coilia, Sardinella, Nemipterus, Thryssa, and sciaenids. The food of M. cordyla also comprises the young ones of molluscs, especially Loligo and Sepia and occasionally ostracods. The choice food is Acetes indicus

George, J.P.

Jaiswar, A.K.

Aquatic Commons

Journal ol' the Indian :Fi~heries Association 
21, 1991, 5-10 
FOOD AND FEEDING HABITS OF MEGALASPIS CORDYLA (LINNAEUS, 1758) 
ALONG THE NORTHWEST COAST OF INDIA 
A.K. JAISWARAND J.P. GEORGE, 
Centrallustitute of Fisheries Education, Versova, Bombayp400 061 
ABSTRACT 
M egalaspis cordyla (Linuaeus, 1758) bone of Hu~ shoaling commcrcinlly important pelagic fish In the Norlhwesl coast oJ' 
India. The study on l'oud ltnd feeding habits of' this fish rt'Ve:Jlcd that it is predominantly ,a carnivorous Sp<'dcs feeding 
prinuarily on serges tid shrimps like Acetes indicus and small fiShes such as Stoleplwrus speCies. In addition it feeds on 
juveniles of Trichiuru.~, Apogon, Coilia, Sanlinella, Nemipterus, Thryssa, and sciaenid!;, The food of M. t•ordyla also 
compri<;cs the young ones of molluscs, especially Lo/igo and Sepia, aud occassionally ostracod'>. The choke food i~Aeetes 
i11dicus. 
INTRODUCTION 
The horse mackerel Megalaspis cordyla (Lim1aeus, 
1758) is an important commercial species 
commonly found in the Indo-Pacific region. 
Although it occurs throughout the year, the major 
catches are recorded during fuc southwest monsoon 
senson only. Jn India earlier studies on food and 
feeding habits of M. cordyla are reported from 
M11labnr coast and Vizhingam Bay and the imp,onant 
work~ are of Chacko and Mathew (1954), 
KuthHlingam (1Y59) and Sreenivasan (1974). Studies 
on food and feeding habits of A!. cordyla arc also 
nvailable from Singapore waters by Tham Ahkow 
(1950). However a brief study on this aspect of the fish 
was done by Datar (1954) and Bapat et al. (1982). 
Thus a deligcnt se-arch on the available literature 
reveals tha·t only scanty information is available on the 
food and feeding habits of M. corc(vla and hence a 
detailed investigation wascmried out on the same with 
relation to various size groups, weight, sex, maturity 
and seasons. 
MATERIAL AND METHODS 
A total of 1651 specimens mainly caught by purse 
seines, pelagic trawls, doi nets, gillnets, hook and 
lines were colkctcd twice a week at random for the 
present investigation from Ferry Wharf, Sassoon 
Dock and Versova landing. C?ntres in Bombay. In 
addition, specimens were also collected from CirE's 
research-cum-trainingv .:sse! M.F .V. Samswati .Pelagic 
trawl catches from northwest coast of India (17°00' to 
20°00' N lat., 69°0()' to 73°00' E long.) from September 
1986 to August, 1988. 
Samples of fishes were studied in fresh conditiort. 
·After recording the total length and total weight, the 
fishes were dissected to assess the sex, stage of 
maturity and stomach contents. The intensity of 
feeding was determined by the degree of distension of 
5 
stomachs as gorged, full, 3/4, 1/2, 1/4, trace and empty. 
The volume of stomach contents wns determined by 
displacement met.hocl. Further am1lysis of food was 
done by the method 6f Index of preponderance 
(Natmajan and Jhingran, 1961). The orientation of 
food items in the stomach was recorded to as·sess 
acti~e or passive type of predatory habit. 
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 
Composition of food: 
Crustaceans dominated in food throughout the year 
followed hy the fishes and molluscs in decreasing 
order of abundance. (Table 1). 
Table I: Table showing percentage and rank of 
different food items of M. cordyla. 
Food items Percentage rank 
A.cetes indicus 86.87 I 
Fishes 2.26 III 
Sepia & Loti go 0.84 N 
Ostracods & other 
crustacc.ans. 0.27 v 
D' d Gl 1geste matter 9.14 n 
Among CrustaceansAcetes indicus contributed 86.87% 
of the total food, while ostracods, lucifers and juve-
niles of crab and prawn were represented occasionally 
in the food. Altogether R species of fishes occurred in 
the gut (Table III ) where Stolcphorus species were 
dominant. Others observed were juveniles of 
Trichiurus, Apogon, Coilia, Sardinella longiceps., 
Nemipterus japonicus, Tluyssa and sciaenids. Juve-
niles of Sepia and Loligo were the only molluscs 
occasionally found in the gut of the fish. 
6 JAISW AR AND GEORGE 
Food composition in relation to size: 
On an average Acetes indicus contributed nearly 
60% of food in the fishes of all size groups. The 
fishes of 110 to 200 mm were found to feed 
primarily on Acetes indicus and those above 
200mm length were feeding on Acetes as well as on 
juveniles of fishes, but the larger fishes ( 400-
450mm) fed exclusively on Acetes indicus. 
Food composition in different months: 
A wide variation was observed in the food 
composition in different months during the period of 
study (Table II). Among the food items Acetes 
indicus was dominating (Fig. 1 ). 
., 
0 
.8 
" 
.8 
<= 
II> 
z 
01 
u 
<( 
-0 
"' 
"' 
.8 
<= 
"' ~ 
"' (l_ 
100 
90 
80 
70 
60 
so 
40 
30 
20 
10 
SONDJFM 
Month 
Fig. 1 : Monthly percentage indices of Acetes 
indicus in total food 
During May to September the food consisted exclu-
sively of Acetes indicus and this coincides with the 
abundance of A. indicus indicating selective feeding of 
the fish on Acetes, whenever it occurs in abundance. 
During October to April juvenile fishes were the 
dominant component in the food while in October and 
November Stolephorus, juveniles of Sardine/fa, 
sciaenids, Loligo and ostracods were observed. In 
December Acetes indicus, Loligo and Thryssa were 
recorded while in January-February juvenilesofLo/i go, 
Sepia, Trichiurus, Coilia, Nemipterus and ostracods 
were recorded. During March-AprilAcetes, juveniles 
. of Loligo, Sepia and Trichiurus were recorded. 
Food composition in relation to sex and maturity 
stages: 
Food of adults of both the sexes of M. cordyla 
was composed ofAcetes indicus, juveniles of fishes, 
cephalopods, prawn larvae and ostracods. The 
juveniles and niaturing fishes of M. cordyla were 
found to feed primarily on small crustaceans like 
Acetes and prawn larvae. Fully ripe fishes were not 
feeding. Some of the spent fishes and adults were 
feeding onAcetes indicus and juveniles of fishes. 
Empty stomachs : 
It was observed that 25% of the total stomachs 
examined were empty (Table III & Fig. 2). In June 
and July no empty stomachs were found while in 
October-November, January and February 
percentage of empty stomachs was less ie. 8.23%, 
1.96, 18.18 and 11.11% respectively. December 
(53.84%) May (78.26%) and August (60%) recorded 
the high percentages of empty stomachs. During 
September (26.32%) and March (23.78% ), moderate 
percentage of empty stomachs were recorded. 
Percentage of empty stomachs was very low in 
juveniles (i.e.l00-200 mm) moderate in 200-350 mm 
size group and maximum in fishes of length group 
351-450 mm (Table IV & Fig.3) 
I•'eeding intensity in relation to size, sex and 
matudty stages: 
Table III reveals that there is variation in 
feeding intensity among different sizes of M. cordyla. 
Fishes of 100-150 mm size group bad 65% of full and 
9% of gorged stomachs showing very high intensity of 
feeding and the size group 151 - 200 mm had 25% 
gorged and 12.9% of full stomachs indicating high 
feeding intensity. The highest degree of feeding next 
to young fishes was observed in fishes of 401 -450 mm 
size group. 
There was no difference in the intensity of 
feeding between sexes. Thus feeding intensity 
was highest in young fishes, moderate in ·maturing 
and mature fishes. Ripe fishes were found with empty 
stomachs; spent fishes had high feeding intensity 
but some of the spent fishes were found with 
empty stomachs. 
The present study shows that M. cordyla is a 
carnivorous fish feeding on crustaceans, fishes and 
molluscs living preying in the pelagic realm. It seems 
to be a selective feeder on Acetes indicus which is 
the choice food forming 86.87% of the total diet. 
It takes other food items only in the absence or scarcity 
of its choice food. Other food items include small 
fishes, juveniles of many fishes besides Sepia and 
Loligo. 
Srinivasan (1978) reported from Vizhingam bay 
that this fish is piscivorous feeding mainly on 
fishes. Chacko and Mathew (1955) from Malabar 
repartee this fish to feed mainly on Anchoviella, 
Sardinella fimbriata, Metapeneus dobsoni, while 
Kuthalingam (1959) described plankton and fishes 
as -food of this fish. Thus' there is considerable 
difference ot opinion about the primary food of 
FOOD AND FEEDING HABITS OF MEGALASPIS CORDYLA 7 
Table II: Monthly percentage indices of food items of M. cordyla during September 1986- August 1988. 
Food items Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec. Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr. May June July Aug. 
Acetes indicus 15.35 59.18 40.28 19.35 17.05 91.29 75.24 19.73 96.23 98.5 99.34 93.5 
Trichiurus spp. 14.25 12.18 
Apogon spp. 18.46 
Coilia spp. 19.58 
S. longiceps. 6.94 
N. jaiponicus 1.04 
Thryssa spp. 17.4 3.88 
Ostracod 0.76 0.70 
Loligo spp. 1.26 53.76 5.09 8.52 
Sepia spp. 4.07 5.17 
Fish scales & 
crustacean append. 33.3 0.15 1.04 0.07 0.64 
Stolephoms spp. - 41.56 3.24 38.97 
Unidentified fish 
laiVae 1.35 15.27 0.24 
Digested matter 50.94 20.86 6.55 9.67 21.64 4.76 21.52 14.55 3.77 1.5 0.66 6.5 
Sciaenids 2.65 
Table III : Percellfage occurrence of stomachs in different degrees offu llness inlvf. cordyla during September 
1986 to August, 1988. 
Months Gorged Full 3/4 1/2 1/4 Trace Empty 
Sept 5.26 5.28 15.79 47.37 26.32 
~ : ----
V"-'l• 9.67 36.47 16.47 9.67 5.88 9.41 8.23 
riuv. 37.25 17.65 9.80 15.68 5.88 11.76 1.96 
Dee. 7.69 7.69 7.69 7.67 15.38 53.84 
Jan. 6.82 9.10 9.10 2.27 18.18 36.36 18.18 
Feb. 31.74 9.52 4.76 12.69 15.87 14.28 11.11 
Mar. 19.69 10.60 1.50 6.06 24.24 9.09 28.78 
Apr. 18.60 20.90 2.32 6.97 25.58 6.97 18.60 
May. 4.34 8.69 8.69 78.26 
Jun. 33.33 33.33 33.33 
July 33.33 16.66 16.66 33.33 
Aug. 20.00 20.00 60.00 
8 JAISW AR AND GEORGE 
Table IV: Percentage occurrence of stomachs in different degrees of fullness in differ~nt size groups of M. 
cordyla during September 1986 -August 1988. 
Size range Gorged Full 3/4 
(mm) 
101-150 8.69 65.21 6.52 
151-200 25.80 12.90 6.45 
201-250 2.04 10.20 8.16 
251-300 8.04 18.51 18.51 
301-350 24.17 13.28 4.19 
351-400 15.51 8.62 6.89 
401-451 26.60 13.30 6.66 
this fish. Bapat et al. (1982) found this fish to feed 
on Acetes indicus, Stolephorus sp., juveniles of 
fi~hes, Sepia, Alima larva, in much similar a fashion 
as noted in the present study. It is probable that 
variation in water quality i·n. the different areas 
may affect the availability and distribution of the 
food items which might alter the food and 
feeding habits of M. cordyla in the different areas. 
Intensity of feeding was found to be highest in 
young fishes as it is the most active phase of 
growth followed by early maturing and late 
1/2. 1/4 Trace Empty 
2.17 2.17 4.34 10.86 
6.45 12.90 25.80 9.67 
8.16 18.36 30.61 22.44 
7.40 11.11 19.75 16.04 
5.60 10.48 20.97 20.97 
8.62 10.34 18.96 31.03 
20.00 33.33 
maturing forms. On full maturity fishes ceased to 
feed as a prelude to spawning activity. Spent fishes 
had high feeding intensity probably to cover up the 
loss of energy during spawning activity. Some of 
the empty stomachs found in spent fishes might be 
of fishes just spawned and could not feed due to 
exhaustion. But 25% of total stomachs observed 
were empty and this may probably be due to the 
nonavailability of choice food items or may be due 
to factors related to size of prey which needs 
further investigation. 
Gorge 
40 
30 
20 
10 
V2 
I 
FOOD AND FEEDING HABITS OF MEGALASPIS COIWYLA 
ao 
V4 '20 
10 
Empty 
Trace 30 
20 
10 
80 
70 
ISO 
50 
~0 
30 
20 
w 
SONOJfMAM JA 
MON1HS 
9 
Fig. 2: Different degrees of stomach fullness in different months during September 1986 to August 1988 
(percentage) in M. cordyla. (X= condition of stomach which was not examined in the particular months) 
10 JAISW AR AND GEORGE 
20 
30 
lSI - 200 2Sl -300 JS!_: 400 
SIZE GROUPS 
20 
t.t 
10 
10 
JO 
>- 20 
1-
!f 10 
w 
Fig. 3 : Percentage occurrence of stomach fullness in different size group of M. cordyla during September 
1986 to August 1988. (X= condition of stomach which was not examined in that particular size 
group.) 
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 
We are grateful to Dr. V.R.P. Sinha, Director, 
CIFE, Bombay for providing necessary facilities, 
encouragement and permission to publish this paper. 
The authors are indebted to Dr. M. Devaraj for 
valuable suggestions during the period of 
investigation. The excellent secretarial assistance of 
Mr. R.P. Swamy is acknowledged with sincere 
thanks. 
REFERENCES 
Bapat, S.V. and Deshmulrn, V.M. 1982. Fishery 
resources of exclusive economic zone of northwest 
coast of India, CMFRI Bulletin No. 33:60pp. 
Chacko, P.I and Mathew, M.J.1955. Biology and 
fisheries of the horse mackerel of the west coast of 
Madras state. Cent.Mar.Biol. Stn. West Hill, Malabar 
coast No.2: 1-22 Govt. Press, Madras. 
Datar, G.G. 1954. The food and feeding habits of 
CaraJIX rottleri (Cuv. Val.) Proc. 41st Indian Sci. 
Congr. 3: 181-182. 
Kuthalingam, M.D.K. 1959. A contribution to 
the life history and feeding habits of horse 
mackerel., Megalaspis cordyla and Caran.:%: mate and 
a note on the effect of absence of light on the 
development and feeding habits of larvae and 
post larvae of M. cordyla. J. Madras Uni. B. 
29 (2) : 79-86. 
Natarajan, A. V. and Jhingran, V.G. 1961. Index 
of preponderance, a method of grading the food 
elements in the stomach analysis of fishes. Indian 
J. Fish. 8 (1): 54-59. 
Sreenivasan, P.V. 1978. Observations on the 
fishery and biology of Megalaspis cordyla at 
Vizhingam.Indian .J. Fish: 25 (1&2): 122-140. 


Food and feeding habits of Megalaspis cordyla (Linnaeus, 1758) along the northwest coast of India

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Food and feeding habits of Megalaspis cordyla (Linnaeus, 1758) along the northwest coast of India

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