The species was later transferred to the scad genus Alepes by Gushiken in 1983, and a specimen from Puducherry, India was designated to be the lectotype the following year by Smith-Vaniz.

[4] The species was redescribed and renamed twice after Cuvier's description, first by Pieter Bleeker as Selar macrurus and then by Henry Fowler as Alepes glabra, both of which are junior synonyms discarded under ICZN rules.

[6] The lateral line is strongly arched anteriorally with the junction of the curved and straight sections located the origin of second dorsal to the third soft ray.

The species has been recorded from the Red Sea, eastward to Sri Lanka, India, Southeast Asia, China, Indonesia, the Philippines, New Guinea, and as far north as Taiwan[4] and as far south as northern Australia.

[9] The herring scad is most commonly found in shallow coastal regions where it inhabits the surface layers of the ocean over a variety of substrates.

[8] The herring scad is a carnivorous species, known to consume a variety of crustaceans including shrimps, copepods and decapods as well as other small fishes.