| Hemiramphidae (Halfbeaks) |
| 40 cm TL (male/unsexed) |
|
reef-associated; brackish; marine; depth range 0 - 5 m |
| Western Atlantic: New York, USA and northern Gulf of Mexico to Brazil (Ref. 7251); including the Caribbean Sea (Ref. 3723). Eastern Atlantic: from Morocco to the Canary Islands (Ref. 57227) and in the Gulf of Guinea from Victoria, Nigeria to south to Luanda, Angola (Ref. 4497). Reported from Côte d'Ivoire (Ref. 28587, 57227). |
|
Dorsal spines (total): 0-0; Dorsal soft rays (total): 11-15; Anal spines: 0-0; Anal soft rays: 10-13. Diagnosis: body elongate; lower jaw forming long, narrow beak; upper jaw short, triangular and scaled; absence of scales on snout; no preorbital crest between eye and nasal pit; pelvic fins abdominal; dorsal and anal fins placed far back on body and spineless; caudal fin deeply forked (Ref. 57227).
Description: fins spineless; pectoral fins long, tips reaching to nasal pits when fins folded forwards; lower lobe caudal fin longer than upper (Ref. 57227).
Coloration: back bluish, belly silvery white; beak black with fleshy tip red; upper lobe of caudal fin purple-bluish with tip red; lower lobe bluish (Ref. 57227). |
| An inshore, surface-dwelling fish which forms sizeable schools (Ref. 3723). Feeds on small fishes and plankton (Ref. 3723). Mainly used as bait for offshore game fishes such as sailfishes and marlins; utilized as a food fish in the West Indies (Ref. 3723). Minimum depth range from Ref. 84211. |
|
Least Concern (LC); Date assessed: 21 August 2012 Ref. (130435)
|
| harmless |
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