[2] The horse-eye jack was first scientifically described in 1831 by the Swiss naturalist Louis Agassiz based on a specimen collected from the waters of Brazil.

Agassiz published this description, along with a further three carangids, in a volume co-authored with the German biologist Johann Baptist von Spix entitled Selecta Genera et Species Piscium Brasiliensium.

Due to C. latus being described first in the publication, this name takes priority and relegates C. lepturus to junior synonymy.

[4][5] The horse-eye jack is similar in appearance to the bigeye trevally (Caranx sexfasciatus) of the Indo-Pacific region, causing the American ichthyologist John Nichols to describe C latus as a 'form' of C.

[10] Adult horse-eye jack are typically dark blue to silvery-blue above, becoming silvery white to golden below.

[11] In some individuals the tip of the soft dorsal fin lobe and the scutes may be dark blue to black.

[8] The horse-eye jack is commonly found in the subtropical Atlantic Ocean from Bermuda and the northern Gulf of Mexico and south to Rio de Janeiro.

In the eastern Atlantic, it is found from St. Paul's Rocks to Ascension Island and, rarely, in the Gulf of Guinea.

The species may venture into brackish waters and can live in river mouths, but it is typically found in saltwater up to 140 m in depth.

The current IGFA All Tackle World Record for this species is 32 lbs (14.51 kg), caught by Terry Lee Ramsey in the Gulf of Mexico off Texas, USA.

[13] They are commonly used as bait for larger species of game fish including Atlantic Sailfish, Blue Marlin, Tarpon, and Snook.