needlefish

needlefish, common name for members of the family Belonidae, which comprises 50 species of elongated, surface-swimming predaceous fish abundant in warm seas. They have beaklike jaws armed with sharp teeth, giving them a superficial resemblance to the gar; some needlefishes reach a length of 6 ft (1.8 m). The saltwater garfish, Strongylura longirostris, may be 4 ft (1.2 m) long but is usually smaller; it is found in Atlantic coastal waters and estuaries. Garfishes resemble twigs and are often mistaken for them when lying motionless at the surface of the water. They swim in small schools and occasionally leap clear of the water in their pursuit of smaller fish. The flesh is palatable, although the greenish bones make it repellent to some. Other species include the billfish and the houndfish, or agujon, an important food fish of Puerto Rico. The closely related halfbeaks, or balaos, family Hemiramphidae, smaller than needlefishes and with only the lower jaw extended, are a herbivorous family linking the needlefishes and the flying fish. Needlefishes are classified in the phylum Chordata, subphylum Vertebrata, class Osteichthyes, order Beloniformes, family Belonidae.

Any of about 60 species (family Belonidae) of primarily marine, edible, carnivorous fishes found throughout temperate and tropical waters. Needlefish are adept jumpers and have a long, slender jaw with sharp teeth. They are long, slim, and silvery, with a blue or green back. The largest species grows to 4 ft (1.2 m) long. The garfish (Belone belone) occurs in Europe, and the houndfish (Tylosurus crocodilus) is found everywhere in the tropics.

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Needlefish (family Belonidae) 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 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 elongate and having long, narrow jaws filled with sharp teeth, and some species of needlefish are referred to as gars or garfish despite being only distantly related to the true gars. In fact 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 in fact members of the Beloniformes and therefore most closely related to flying fish, sauries, and halfbeaks.

Phylogeny

Needlefishes are members of the Beloniformes and close relatives of the flyingfishes, halfbeaks, and sauries.

Needlefish are most common in the tropics but some inhabit temperate waters as well, particularly during the summer months. Belone belone is a common North Atlantic species that often swims in schools alongside mackerel and typically grows to around 60 cm in length. It is easily caught with a baited hook, and is considered a good food fish despite having bright green bones.

In the aquarium

Some species of needlefish inhabit brackish and freshwater environments, and one of the freshwater species, Xenentodon cancila from South East Asia, is occasionally kept as an aquarium fish. It is a relatively small species, no more than 30 to 40 cm in length when fully grown, but is considered to be a rather delicate fish best suited to advanced aquarists.

References

External links

• FishBase entry on Belonidae
• World Sea Fishing article on the North Atlantic gar, Belone belone. (link is broken)
• Annotated Checklist of Fishes: Belonidae
• Needlefish stabs diver to death in Vietnam