 "Caranx" itself is part of the larger jack and horse mackerel family Carangidae, which in turn is part of the order Carangiformes.Prior to its description in 1825, the species was often confused with the similar-looking Atlantic species "Caranx hippos", and its synonym "Caranx carangus".The species was first properly scientifically described by the French naturalists Jean René Constant Quoy and Joseph Paul Gaimard in 1825 from a specimen collected off Waigeo, Indonesia which was designated to be the holotype.