The torpedo scad is easily identified by both its 'torpedo' shaped body and a series of detached finlets at the rear of both the dorsal and anal fins.

The torpedo scad is the only member of the monotypic genus Megalaspis, which is one of the thirty genera in the family Carangidae, which in turn is part of the order Carangiformes.

[3] The species was first scientifically described by Carl Linnaeus,[4] a famed Swedish naturalist who is widely considered the father of modern taxonomy.

[6] Linnaeus named the species Scomber cordyla, placing the fish in the true mackerel genus, which was a common practice before the family Carangidae was recognised.

[5] In 1851 Pieter Bleeker reassigned Scomber rottleri to its own genus Megalaspis, meaning "large scutes".

[11] The species is often considered to have a rather unusual body form, having features superficially similar to tunas, mackerels and other carangids.

In both the dorsal and anal fins, the posterior 7-10 rays are detached and form a series of diagnostic finlets.

The lateral line is strongly arched over a short length anteriorly, with the intersection of the curved and straight sections vertically below the fourth or fifth spine of the first dorsal fin.

[9][11] The torpedo scad is distributed throughout the tropical and subtropical waters of the Indian and west Pacific Oceans.

[11] In the west, the range of the species extends from the tip of South Africa north along the east African coastline to the Persian Gulf and Red Sea.

[2] The species is found along the Indian and Asian coastlines, extending north to China and South Korea on the mainland.

It is abundant through the central Indo-Pacific and the Indonesian Archipelago,[2] with its offshore range extending to Taiwan and Japan in the north.

[7] The torpedo scad is an important species to commercial fisheries in parts of Asia, and as such has had significant research published on its biology and ecology.

[22][26] The population structure in Indian waters has also been well studied, with the most recent of these suggesting a major recruitment event occurs between May and August.

These studies also guide fisheries regulations, with a theoretical maximum yield achieved when fish are only taken once they reach 18 cm.

Middle Eastern countries also record this species in their hauls, but at lower amounts of between 50 and 5000 t.[29] In more southerly regions such as South Africa, it is a rare catch, usually appearing in beach seines.

[31] In polluted waters it has been demonstrated the fish contain higher than acceptable levels of heavy metals, and should be avoided in such regions.