Tarpon are fish of the genus Megalops. They are the only members of the family, Of the two species, one is native to the Atlantic, and the other to the Indo-Pacific Oceans.atlanticus is found on the western Atlantic coast from Virginia to Brazil, throughout the Caribbean and the coast of the Gulf of Mexico. Tarpon are also found along the eastern Atlantic coast as well as the African coast, throughout Southeast Asia, Japan, Tahiti, and Australia. Both species are found in both marine and freshwater habitats, usually ascending rivers to access freshwater marshes. They are able to survive in brackish water. Due to their swim bladders, which they use primarily to breathe. They are also able to rise to the surface and take gulps of air, which gives them a short burst of energy. The habitats of tarpons vary greatly with their developmental stages, salt marshes, tidal pools, creeks, and rivers. Their habitats are characteristically warm, shallow, dark bodies of water with sandy mud bottoms. Tarpons commonly ascend rivers into fresh water. As they progress from the juvenile stage to adulthood