Bonito

Bonito are a tribe of medium-sized, ray-finned predatory fish in the family Scombridae – a family it shares with the mackerel, tuna and Spanish mackerel tribes, and also the butterfly kingfish. Also called the Sardini tribe, it consists of eight species across four genera; three of those four genera are monotypic genera, having a single species each.

Etymology
Although bonito is an adjective common to both Spanish and Portuguese that means pretty, it is not clear whether the name of the fish is related to this. It is also not clear whether the Arabic name bainīth is the origin of the Portuguese/Spanish term, or vice versa.

Species

 * Genus Sarda (Cuvier, 1832)
 * Australian bonito, Sarda australis (Macleay, 1881)
 * Sarda chiliensis (Cuvier, 1832)
 * Eastern Pacific bonito, Sarda chiliensis chiliensis (Cuvier, 1832)
 * Pacific bonito, Sarda chiliensis lineolata (Girard, 1858)
 * Striped bonito, Sarda orientalis (Temminck & Schlegel, 1844)
 * Atlantic bonito, Sarda sarda (Bloch, 1793)
 * Genus Cybiosarda (Whitley, 1935)
 * Leaping bonito, C. elegans (Whitley, 1935)
 * Genus Gymnosarda Gill, 1862
 * Dogtooth tuna, G. unicolor (Rüppell, 1836)
 * Genus Orcynopsis Gill, 1862
 * Plain bonito, O. unicolor (Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 1817)

Food
Pacific and Atlantic bonito meat has a firm texture and a darkish color. The bonito has a moderate fat content. The meat of young or small bonito can be of lighter color, close to that of skipjack tuna, and is sometimes used as a cheaper substitute of skipjack, especially for canning purposes. Bonito may not be marketed as tuna in all countries, however.

Bonito that has been dried, fermented, and smoked, called katsuobushi, is a key ingredient in many Japanese soups.

The Atlantic bonito is also found in the Mediterranean and the Black Sea, where it is a popular food fish, eaten grilled, pickled (lakerda), or baked.