Atlantic Tarpon

There are two species of Megalops, commonly known as the tarpon, one native to the Atlantic, and the other to the Indo-Pacific oceans. They are the only members of the family Megalopidae and genus Megalops.

Species and habitats

 The Megalops atlanticus is found on the western Atlantic coast from Virginia to Brazil, throughout the coast of the Gulf of Mexico, throughout the Caribbean. It is also found along the eastern Atlantic coast from Senegal to Angola.

Megalops cyprinoides is found along the eastern African coast, throughout southeast Asia, Japan, Tahiti, and Australia. Both species are found in both salt and freshwater habitats usually ascending rivers to access freshwater marshes.

They are able to survive in brackish water, waters of varying pH, as well as habitats with low dissolved O₂ content due to their swim bladders which they use primarily to breathe with.
The habitat of the Megalops varies greatly with the developmental stage they are in. Stage one larva are usually found in clear, warm, oceanic waters relatively close to the surface. Stage two and three larva are found in salt marshes, tidal pools, creeks, and rivers. 

The habitats are characteristically warm, shallow, dark bodies of water with sandy mud bottoms. It is quite common for Megalops to ascend rivers into freshwater also. As the progress through the juvenile stage to adulthood they move back to the open waters of the ocean though many remain in freshwater habitats as well.
  

Here is a pick at the Atlantic Tarpon

                                                 Atlantic tarpon

The Atlantic tarpon, Megalops atlanticus, inhabits coastal waters, estuaries, lagoons, and rivers. Tarpons feed almost exclusively on schooling fish and occasionally crabs. Tarpons are capable of filling their swim bladder with air, like a primitive lung. This gives Tarpons a predatory advantage when oxygen levels in the water are low. Tarpons have been recorded at up to 250 centimetres (98 in) in length and weighing up to 161 kilograms (350 lb). Atlantic Tarpons are also known as the silver king.

In appearance, Tarpons are greenish or bluish on top and silver on the sides. The large mouth is turned upwards and the lower jaw contains an elongated bony plate. The last ray of the dorsal fin is much longer than the others, reaching nearly to the tail.

Atlantic Tarpons are found in the Atlantic ocean typically in tropical and subtropical regions, though it has been reported as far north as Nova Scotia and the atlantic coast of Southern France, and as far south as Argentina. As with all Elopiformes it is found in coastal area, spawning at sea. Diet includes smaller fish and crustaceans.

Tarpons are the official state saltwater fish of Alabama.