Tuna
n.
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 .
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