Nelson, J.S., 1994

Beloniformes needle fishes

Teleostei

Cyprinodontiformes 45 M years

Carroll, R., 1988  |  Helfman, G., B. Collette and D. Facey, 1997

early Tertiary

Marine

Fresh

Brackish

Interarcual cartilage (connects the epibranchial bone of the first gill arch with the infrapharyngobranchial of the second gill arch) small or absent; small second and third epibranchials; interhyal absent; lower caudal fin lobe with more principal rays than the upper lobe. Presence of a fixed or nonprotrusible upper jaw.

Greek aktis = ray, thunderbolt, beam + Greek pterygion, diminutive of pteryx = wing, fin. Ref. 45335.

Greek, belone = needle + Latin, forma = shape (Ref. 45335).

( n = 6 )
Adrianichthyidae Belonidae Exocoetidae Hemiramphidae Scomberesocidae Zenarchopteridae

Ref.
[ e.g. 9948 ]      

Glossary
      [ e.g. oophagy ]