California flyingfish

Cheilopogon pinnatibarbatus californicus

FAMILY

Exocoetidae

TAXONOMY

Exocoetus californicus Cooper, 1863, Santa Catalina Island, California.

OTHER COMMON NAMES

French: Exocet californien; Spanish: Volador de California.

PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS

Maximum length 15 in (38 cm). One of the "four-winged" flyingfishes; both pectoral and pelvic fins are enlarged. Lower lobe of caudal fin is also considerably larger than the upper. Bluish gray dorsally, silver ventrally.

DISTRIBUTION

Oregon to southern Baja California.

HABITAT

Surface waters of the open ocean.

BEHAVIOR

Schooling fishes, capable of leaping out of the water and gliding for long distances, possibly as a means of evading predators.

FEEDING ECOLOGY AND DIET

Zooplankton and small fishes.

REPRODUCTIVE BIOLOGY

Spawns in the summer months. Eggs are pelagic, and stick to floating seaweed and other debris. The eggs are approximately 0.07 in (1.8 mm) in diameter. Larvae are roughly 0.17 in (4.5 mm) long at hatching.

CONSERVATION STATUS

Not threatened.

SIGNIFICANCE TO HUMANS

Occasionally used as bait.