needlefish

Needlefish
Tylosurus crocodilus
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Beloniformes
Family:	Belonidae
Genera
Platybelone Potamorrhaphis Pseudotylosurus Stenocaulis Strongylura Thalassosteus Tylosurus Xenentodon

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. ^[1] 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.^[2]

Description

A Needlefish is being cleaned by Rainbow cleaner Wrasses,Labroides phthirophagus

Needlefish are slender fish, ranging from 3 centimetres (1.2 in) to 95 centimetres (37 in) in length. They have a single dorsal fin, placed far back on the body, almost opposite to the anal fin. Their most distinctive feature is their long narrow beak, which bears multiple sharp teeth. In most species, the upper jaw only reaches its full length in adulthood, so that the juveniles have a half-beak appearance, with an elongate lower jaw, but a much smaller upper one. During this stage of their life cycle, they eat plankton, switching to fish once the beak fully develops.^[3]

Ecology

All needlefish feed primarily on smaller fishes, which they catch with a sideways sweep of the head. In addition some species will also take plankton, swimming crustaceans, and small cephalopods. Freshwater species are also predatory, with the Asian species at least feeding exclusively on small crustaceans. ^[4]

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.

Danger to Humans

Needlefish, like all ray-finned beloniforms, are capable of making short jumps out of the water at up to 38 mph. Since needlefish swim near the surface, they often leap over the decks of shallow boats rather than going around. This jumping activity is greatly excited by artificial light at night; night fisherman and divers in areas across the Pacific Ocean have been "attacked" by schools of suddenly excited needlefish diving across the water towards the light source at high speed. Their sharp beak is capable of inflicting deep puncture wounds, often breaking off inside the victim in the process. For many traditional Pacific Islander communities, who primarily fish on reefs from low boats, needlefish represent a greater risk of injury than even sharks.^[5]

Two historical deaths have been attributed to needlefish. The first was in 1977 when a 10-year-old Hawai'ian boy, night fishing with his father at Hanamaulu Bay, Kaua'i, was killed when a 3-4 foot long needlefish jumped from the water and pierced his eye and brain.^[6] The second was a 16-year-old Vietnamese boy, stabbed through the heart by the six-inch spike of a needlefish in 2007 while night diving for sea cucumbers near Halong Bay. ^[7]

Classification

Needlefishes are members of the Beloniformes and close relatives of the flyingfishes, halfbeaks, and sauries. ^[8] The family contains 34 species, grouped into 10 genera^[9]:

Family Belonidae

• Genus Ablennes
  • Ablennes hians - Flat needlefish
• Genus Belone
  • Belone belone - Garpike
  • Belone svetovidovi
• Genus Belonion
  • Belonion apodion
  • Belonion dibranchodon
• Genus Petalichthys
  • Petalichthys capensis - Cape needlefish
• Genus Platybelone
  • Platybelone argalus - Keeltail needlefish
• Genus Potamorrhaphis
  • Potamorrhaphis eigenmanni
  • Potamorrhaphis guianensis
  • Potamorrhaphis petersi
• Genus Pseudotylosaurus
  • Pseudotylosurus angusticeps
  • Pseudotylosurus microps
• Genus Strongylura
  • Strongylura anastomella
  • Strongylura exilis - Californian needlefish
  • Strongylura fluviatilis
  • Strongylura hubbsi - Maya needlefish
  • Strongylura incisa - Reef needlefish
  • Strongylura krefftii - Long tom
  • Strongylura leiura - Banded needlefish
  • Strongylura marina - Atlantic needlefish
  • Strongylura notata - Redfin needlefish
  • Strongylura scapularis - Shoulderspot needlefish
  • Strongylura senegalensis - Senegal needlefish
  • Strongylura strongylura - Spottail needlefish
  • Strongylura timucu - Timucu
  • Strongylura urvillii - Urville's longtom
• Genus Tylosurus
  • Tylosurus acus - Agujon needlefish
  • Tylosurus choram - Red Sea houndfish
  • Tylosurus crocodilus
  • Tylosurus gavialoides - Stout longtom
  • Tylosurus pacificus - Pacific agujon needlefish
  • Tylosurus punctulatus - Spotted long-tom
• Genus Xenentodon
  • Xenentodon cancila - Freshwater garfish
  • Xenentodon canciloides

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.^[10]

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