20-452: Ablennes Belone Belonion Petalichthys Platybelone Potamorrhaphis Pseudotylosurus Strongylura Tylosurus Xenentodon Needlefish ( family Belonidae ) or long toms are piscivorous fishes primarily associated with very shallow marine habitats or the surface of the open sea. Some genera include species found in marine, brackish , and freshwater environments (e.g., Strongylura ), while
40-411: A dark lobe on the posterior part of their dorsal fins. The longest recorded flat needlefish measured 140 cm. Measurements for flat needlefish body length do not include their caudal fins and heads because the fish's long jaws are often broken off. The largest recorded weight for a flat needlefish was 4.8 kg. Flat needlefish are found worldwide in tropical and temperate seas . In
60-414: A few genera are confined to freshwater rivers and streams, including Belonion , Potamorrhaphis , and Xenentodon . Needlefish closely resemble North American freshwater gars (family Lepisosteidae ) in being elongated and having long, narrow jaws filled with sharp teeth, and some species of needlefishes are referred to as gars or garfish despite being only distantly related to the true gars. In fact,
80-417: A shallow angle to ambush schools of small fish. Due to light refraction through water, objects at the edges of the window appear distorted, disrupting the image of the leaping needlefish and allowing it to get within very short distances of its prey. Needlefish, like all ray-finned beloniforms , are capable of making short jumps out of the water at up to 60 km/h (37 mph). Since needlefish swim near
100-426: Is Latin for "gaping". Although they have no spines , they do have several soft rays. About 23-26 rays are on the dorsal fin and 24-28 are on the anal fin . They have 86-93 vertebrae . Dorsally, flat needlefish are blueish, white ventrally, with dark blotches and 12-14 vertical bars in the middle of their bodies. Flat needlefish have elongated bodies, with scythe -shaped pectoral and anal fins. They also have
120-484: Is an order composed of six families (and about 264 species) of freshwater and marine ray-finned fish : With the exception of the Adrianichthyidae, these are streamlined, medium-sized fishes that live close to the surface of the water, feeding on algae, plankton, or smaller animals including other fishes. Most are marine, though a few needlefish and halfbeaks inhabit brackish and fresh waters. The order
140-666: Is sometimes divided up into two suborders, the Adrianichthyoidei and the Belonoidei, although this clade is referred to as Exocoetoidei in the 5th edition of Fishes of the World . The Adrianichthyoidei contain only a single family, the Adrianichthyidae. Originally, the Adrianichthyidae were included in the Cyprinodontiformes and assumed to be closely related to the killifish , but a closer relationship to
160-420: Is their long, narrow beak, which bears multiple sharp teeth. In most species, the upper jaw reaches its full length only in adults, so the juveniles have a half-beak appearance, with an elongated lower jaw, but a much smaller upper one. During this stage of their lifecycle, they eat plankton , switching to fish once the beak fully develops. Needlefish reproduce through mating and laying eggs. The male usually rides
180-571: The Red Sea . Flat needlefish usually live in neritic ocean waters near islands, estuaries , and near coastal rivers, where they feed on smaller fish and occasionally gather in large schools . Flat needlefish lay eggs , which attach themselves to floating debris by filaments on the surface of each egg. Only the left gonad in both sexes is developed, and in males, the right gonad is sometimes wholly absent. Beloniformes Beloniformes / ˈ b ɛ l ə n ɪ m ɪ f ɔːr m iː z /
200-463: The only known member of the genus Ablennes , is a marine fish of the family Belonidae . Flat needlefish are considered gamefish , frequently caught with the help of artificial lights , but are not often eaten because of their green-colored flesh. The generic name Ablennes – formerly misspelled Athlennes – means ‘without mucosity ’, from the ancient Greek privative a- prefix and blennos (‘mucus’). Its specific name hians
220-608: The superfamily Scomberesocoidea and in turn, is one of two superfamilies in the suborder Exocoetoidei which comprises all of the Beloniformes except for the ricefishes of the family Adrianichthydae. Workers have concluded that the genus Belone is the sister group to the sauries and that if this is correct them the Belonidae is only monophyletic if the sauries are included within it. Ablennes The flat needlefish ( Ablennes hians ), or barred longtom ,
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#1732787657973240-747: The Eastern Atlantic , they are known from Cape Verde and Dakar to Moçamedes in Angola . In the western Atlantic, they are known from the Chesapeake Bay south to Brazil . They are found throughout the Indian Ocean , and in the western Pacific from the southern islands of Japan to Australia and Tuvalu . A few specimens have been collected from Syria to Israel in the Mediterranean Sea , likely migrants from
260-701: The beloniforms is indicated by various characteristics including the absence of the interhyal , resulting in the upper jaw being fixed or not protrusible. The Belonoidei may also be further subdivided into two superfamilies, the Scomberesocoidea and the Exocoetoidea . The Scomberesocoidea contain the Belonidae and Scomberesocidae, while the Exocoetoidea comprise the Exocoetidae, Hemiramphidae and Zenarchopteridae. However, newer evidence shows
280-648: The female on the waves as they mate. Needlefish are most common in the subtropics, but some inhabit temperate waters, as well, particularly during the winter. Belone belone , a common North Atlantic species, often swim in schools alongside tuna . Recently, some small specimens have been seen in the Mediterranean Sea. All needlefish feed primarily on smaller fish. In addition, some species also take krill , swimming crustaceans , small cephalopods and insects. Needlefish have been documented in taking advantage of Snell's Window when attacking prey; leaping at
300-471: The flyingfishes are nested within the halfbeaks, and the needlefish and sauries are nested within the subfamily Zenarchopterinae of the family Hemiramphidae, which has been recognized as its own family. The sauries are also nested within the family Belonidae. The beloniforms display an interesting array of jaw morphologies. The basal condition in the order excluding the ricefishes is an elongated lower jaw in juveniles and adults as represented in halfbeaks. In
320-421: The freshwater species, Xenentodon cancila from Southeast Asia, is occasionally kept as an aquarium fish. It is a relatively small species, no more than 40 cm in length when fully grown, but is considered to be a rather delicate fish best suited to advanced aquarists. The needlefish family is classified within the order Beloniformes and along with the sauries of the family Scomberesocidae they make up
340-520: The name " garfish " was originally used for the needlefish Belone belone in Europe and only later applied to the North American fishes by European settlers during the 18th century. Needlefish are slender, ranging from 3.0 to 95 cm (1.2 to 37.4 in) in length. They have a single dorsal fin , placed far back on the body, almost opposite to the anal fin . Their most distinctive feature
360-542: The needlefish and sauries, both jaws are elongated in the adults; the juveniles of most species develop through a "halfbeak stage" before having both jaws elongated. The elongated lower jaw is lost in adults and is lost in most juveniles in the flyingfishes and some halfbeak genera. They are known for many commercial uses, and have about 260 different species. Beloniformes lack a complete sequence of mitogenomes. This leads to many variations in mtDNA, about 35 different ones. To understand evolution for Beloniformes and to identify
380-504: The surface, they often leap over the decks of shallow boats rather than going around. This jumping activity is greatly excited by artificial light at night; night fisherman and divers in areas across the Pacific Ocean have been "attacked" by schools of suddenly excited needlefish diving across the water towards the light source at high speed. Their sharp beaks are capable of inflicting deep puncture wounds , often breaking off inside
400-404: The victim in the process. For many traditional Pacific Islander communities, who primarily fish on reefs from low boats, needlefish represent an even greater risk of injury than sharks. Occasional deaths and serious injuries have been attributed to needlefish. They include the following documented incidents: Some species of needlefish inhabit brackish and freshwater environments, and one of
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