The Atlantic tarpon (Megalops atlanticus) is a ray-finned fish that inhabits coastal waters, estuaries, lagoons, and rivers.

[11][12] Atlantic tarpon adapt well to urban and suburban environments due to their tolerance for boat traffic and low water quality.

[13] While the Atlantic tarpon is rarely consumed in the United States, subsistence and commercial fisheries exist in a number of countries.

[8] Tarpons are considered one of the great saltwater game fishes, not only because of their size and their accessible haunts, but also because of their fighting spirit when hooked; they are very strong, making spectacular leaps into the air.

Tarpons inhabiting the western Atlantic are principally found to populate warmer coastal waters primarily in the Gulf of Mexico, Florida, and the West Indies.

[7] Scientific studies indicate schools have routinely migrated through the Panama Canal from the Atlantic to the Pacific and back for over 80 years.

[18][17] Since tarpons tolerate a wide range of salinity and are opportunistic feeders, their migrations are limited only by water temperatures.

[citation needed] A large tarpon community is found in the Rio San Juan and Lake Nicaragua.

The leptocephali develop into juveniles which make their way inshore, often into stagnant water with a very low oxygen content which can't be tolerated by most of their predators.

When they are about three years old Atlantic tarpon migrate from these backwater habitats to a variety of nearshore ones, growing rapidly but primarily in length as opposed to girth.

At around eight years of age an Atlantic tarpon reaches its sexual maturity and begins to gain length as well as girth.