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Platybelone argalus (Lesueur, 1821)

Keeltail needlefish
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Platybelone argalus
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Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes(genus, species) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa

Teleostei (teleosts) > Beloniformes (Needle fishes) > Belonidae (Needlefishes)
Etymology: Platybelone: Greek, platys = flat + Greek, belone = needle; any fish with sharp pointed snout; also Pierre Belon, 1517-64, French zoologist born in Le Mans. Professor at the College de France, author of " La nature et diversité des poissons", 1551 (Ref. 45335).
More on author: Lesueur.

Issue
The 4 subspecies were upraised at species rank, as provisionally accepted names, , until more works are conducted on P. argalus susbepcies to fix their status.

Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range Ecology

Marine; reef-associated; depth range 0 - ? m, usually 0 - 2 m (Ref. 40849). Subtropical; 37°N - 29°S, 98°W - 34°W

Distribution Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Point map | Introductions | Faunafri

Western Atlantic: North Carolina, USA to Brazil (Ref. 7251), including the Bahamas, Gulf of Mexico, and Caribbean Sea.

Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 50.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 26340); common length : 35.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 5217)

Short description Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics

Dorsal soft rays (total): 12 - 15; Anal soft rays: 17 - 20. Gill rakers present; caudal peduncle with a lateral keel, the lateral line passing ventral to it.

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

Occurs offshore; particularly abundant around islands (Ref. 5217); schools in sheltered parts of the reef (Ref. 48635). Feeds mainly on small fishes. Oviparous (Ref. 205). Eggs may be found attached to objects in the water by tendrils on the egg's surface (Ref. 205).

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturities | Reproduction | Spawnings | Egg(s) | Fecundities | Larvae

Main reference Upload your references | References | Coordinator : Collette, Bruce B. | Collaborators

Böhlke, J.E. and C.C.G. Chaplin, 1993. Fishes of the Bahamas and adjacent tropical waters. 2nd edition. University of Texas Press, Austin. (Ref. 5521)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435)

  Least Concern (LC) ; Date assessed: 29 January 2009

CITES

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

  Harmless





Human uses

Fisheries: subsistence fisheries
FAO - Publication: search | FishSource |

More information

Trophic ecology
Food items
Diet compositions
Food consumptions
Food rations
Predators
Ecology
Ecology
Population dynamics
Growths
Max. ages / sizes
Length-weight rel.
Length-length rel.
Length-frequencies
Mass conversions
Recruitments
Abundances
Life cycle
Reproduction
Maturities
Fecundities
Spawnings
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Egg(s)
Egg developments
Larvae
Larval dynamics
Distribution
Countries
FAO areas
Ecosystems
Occurrences
Introductions
BRUVS - Videos
Anatomy
Gill areas
Brains
Otoliths
Physiology
Body compositions
Nutrients
Oxygen consumptions
Swimming type
Swimming speeds
Visual pigment(s)
Fish sounds
Diseases / Parasites
Toxicities (LC50s)
Genetics
Genetics
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Aquaculture profiles
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Stamps, coins, misc.
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Taxonomy
Common names
Synonyms
Morphology
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References
References

Tools

E-book | Field guide | Identification keys | Length-frequency wizard | Life-history tool | Point map | Classification Tree | Catch-MSY |

Special reports

Check for Aquarium maintenance | Check for Species Fact Sheets | Check for Aquaculture Fact Sheets

Download XML

Summary page | Point data | Common names | Photos

Internet sources

AFORO (otoliths) | Aquatic Commons | BHL | Cloffa | BOLDSystems | Websites from users | Check FishWatcher | CISTI | Catalog of Fishes: genus, species | DiscoverLife | ECOTOX | FAO - Publication: search | Faunafri | Fishipedia | Fishtrace | GenBank: genome, nucleotide | GloBI | Google Books | Google Scholar | Google | IGFA World Record | MitoFish | National databases | Otolith Atlas of Taiwan Fishes | PubMed | Reef Life Survey | Socotra Atlas | Tree of Life | Wikipedia: Go, Search | World Records Freshwater Fishing | Zoological Record

Estimates based on models

Preferred temperature (Ref. 123201): 25.1 - 28.2, mean 27.4 °C (based on 619 cells).
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82804):  PD50 = 0.7500   [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00112 (0.00043 - 0.00289), b=3.04 (2.81 - 3.27), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this (Sub)family-body shape (Ref. 93245).
Trophic level (Ref. 69278):  4.5   ±0.8 se; based on diet studies.
Resilience (Ref. 120179):  High, minimum population doubling time less than 15 months (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref. 59153):  Moderate vulnerability (40 of 100).
Price category (Ref. 80766):   High.
Nutrients (Ref. 124155):  Calcium = 57.9 [15.1, 228.9] mg/100g; Iron = 0.551 [0.229, 1.539] mg/100g; Protein = 18 [16, 20] %; Omega3 = 0.162 [0.062, 0.487] g/100g; Selenium = 8.69 [3.39, 25.46] μg/100g; VitaminA = 117 [28, 555] μg/100g; Zinc = 0.654 [0.361, 1.155] mg/100g (wet weight);