Exocoetidae


Also found in: Dictionary, Thesaurus, Medical, Wikipedia.
Related to Exocoetidae: family Exocoetidae

Exocoetidae

[‚ek·sə′sēd·ə‚dē]
(vertebrate zoology)
The halfbeaks, a family of actinopterygian fishes in the order Atheriniformes.

Exocoetidae

 

(flying fish), a family of fish of the order Beloniformes. The body length reaches 45 cm. The pectoral fins are placed high on the body and are very long and broad—adaptations enabling the fish to glide above the water and escape from predatory fish. The exocoetids are capable of flying more than 100 m through the air and of reaching a height of 10 m; sometimes they land on the decks of ships. Thus, the pectoral fins serve as surfaces of flight. The organ of motion in the water is the caudal fin, which has an elongated lower lobe.

The family comprises six genera, which are primarily distributed in tropical and subtropical waters of the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific oceans. In the USSR, the Cheilopogon heterurus sometimes appears in Peter the Great Bay in the summer months; the Exocoetus volitans is also encountered. The exocoetids feed on small plankton organisms and, in turn, serve as prey for many predatory fishes.

G. U. LINDBERG

Mentioned in ?
References in periodicals archive ?
Flying fish (Exocoetidae) of the northwestern part of the Pacific Ocean.
Reproductive aspects of the flyingfish, Hirundichthys affinis from the Northeastern coastal waters of Brazil/Aspectos reprodutivos do peixe voador, Hirundichthys affinis das aguas costeiras do Nordeste do Brasil
Prey taxa PRA DO Family Species MNI % MNI % Marine fish Cupleidae Unidentified 1 4 -- - Unidentified 1 4 1 1.3 Belonidae Tylosurus acus * 96 366 5 6.4 Belonidae Unidenfied 5 19 -- - Exocoetidae Cheilopogon heterurus * 112 427 15 19.2 Aulostomidae Aulostomus strigosus -- -- 1 1.3 Moronidae Dicentrarchus labrax -- -- 1 1.3 Carangidae Trachinotus ovatus 5 19 2 2.6 Sparidae Sparus auratus 4 15 2 2.6 Sparidae Diplodus sp.
Inter-insular variation of the diet of osprey Pandion haliaetus in the Canarian archipelago
Dominant families collected by neuston net in both Sargassum and openwater habitats were Monacanthidae (83% of S, 79% of OW), Carangidae (9%, 13%), and Exocoetidae (4%, 6%).
Fishes associated with pelagic Sargassum and open water lacking Sargassum in the Gulf Stream off North Carolina
The only species frequently collected besides halfbeaks were Flyingfishes (Exocoetidae: Cypselurus and Parexocoetus) and needlefishes (Belonidae: Ablennes and Tylosaurus).
Florida's halfbeak, Hemiramphus spp., bait fishery
0 0 1 Opisthonema oglinum 0 0 0 Sardinella aurita 0 0 0 Engraulidae Anchoa hepsetus 0 0 0 Anchoa mitchilli 0 0 4 Ariidae Arius felis 0 0 0 Bagre marinus 0 0 0 Synodontidae Synodus foetens 0 0 0 Gadidae Urophycis floridana 0 0 0 Batrachiodidae Opsanus beta 0 0 0 Ogcocephalidae Ogcocephalus radiatus 0 0 0 Exocoetidae Hyporhamphus meeki 0 0 0 Belonidae Strongylura marina 0 0 0 Atherinidae Membras martinica 0 10 0 Menidia spp.
Fish assemblages found in tidal-creek and seagrass habitats in the Suwannee River estuary
1 0.1 1 < 0.1 No identificados 70 9.1 13 1.1 * * Myctophidae 1 0.1 1 < 0.1 No identificados 1 0.1 1 < 0.1 * Atherinidae 13 1.7 9 0.2 Atherinomorus stipes 2 0.3 2 < 0.1 * Hypoatherina harringtonensis 3 0.4 1 < 0.1 * No identificados 8 1.0 6 0.1 * * Belonidae 2 0.3 1 < 0.1 Strongylura marina 2 0.3 1 < 0.1 * Exocoetidae 6 0.8 6 0.1 Cypselurus spp.
Asociaciones de larvas de peces en una bahia del Caribe mexicano
The Hemiramphidae are related to the Exocoetidae (fiyingfishes) and, more distantly, to the Scomberosocidae (sauries), Belonidae (needlefishes), and Adrianichthyidae (ricefishes) (Collette et al., 1984).
Larval development of the southern sea garfish (Hyporhamphus melanochir) and the river garfish (H. regularis) (Beloniformes: Hemiramphidae) from South Australian waters
1 <0.1 0.4 * Mugilidae Mugil spp, 3 <0.1 0.5 * Atherinidae Athefmotnorus stipes 163 16 1.7 * Hypttatherina 43 0.4 1.5 harringtonensis No identificados 47 0.5 1.2 * Belonidae Stmngyiura marina 3 <0.1 0.7 Exocoetidae Cypselurus spp.
Variacion estacional del ictioplancton de la Bahia de la Ascension, Reserva de la Biosfera de Sian Ka'an (1990-1994)
MiF 5.29 Family Exocoetidae F 4.12 Cheilopogon furcatus F 4.12 Cheilopogon spilonotopterus F 4.12 Cheilopogon spp.
Food habits and consumption rates of common dolphinfish (Coryphaena hippurus) in the eastern Pacific Ocean
Studies show that fast-swimming animals, fishes of families Belonidae, Scombridae, Exocoetidae, Carangldae, Coryphaenidae, in particular, and most squids of the family Ommastrephidae, the ordinary food of tunas, are rare or absent in stomachs of lancetfish.
First record of a yellowfin tuna (Thunnus albacares) from the stomach of a longnose lancetfish (Alepisaurus ferox). (Notes)
Exocoetidae) and some to be accidental bycatch (e.g.
Bycatch in the tuna purse-seine fisheries of the western Indian Ocean

Encyclopedia browser ?
Full browser ?