Original description as Megalops atlanticus:
- Cuvier, Georges & A. Valenciennes. 1846. "Histoire naturelle des poissons. Tome dix-huitième. Suite du livre dix-huitième. Cyprinoïdes. Livre dix-neuvième. Des Ésoces ou Lucioïdes". Histoire naturelle des poissons. 18:1-505 (ffm00015)
Synonyms (1):
- Clupea gigantea Shaw, 1804, with type locality at American and Indian seas. Determiner: Whitehead et al., 1984
- Megalops elongatus Girard, 1859, with type locality at Long Island, New York, U.S.A. Determiner: Whitehead et al., 1984
Conservation: Tarpon atlanticus is not evaluated by the international union for the conservation of nature in the iucn red list of threatened species.