Needlefish

From Encyclopedia Jr, free information reference for Kids

For other uses, see Needlefish (disambiguation).

Needlefishes
Tylosurus crocodilus
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Actinopterygii Order: Beloniformes Family: Belonidae
Genera
Ablennes Belone Lhotskia Platybelone Stenocaulis Strongylura (common needlefishes) Thalassosteus Tylosurus Xenentodon (Asian freshwater needlefishes)

Needlefishes (family Belonidae) are piscivorous fishes usually associated with shallow marine habitats or the surface of the open sea. They closely resemble gars 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. Needlefish are in fact members of the Beloniformes and therefore most closely related to flying fish, sauries, and halfbeaks.

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. The freshwater species are also predatory and catch small fish, but they will also eat amphibians, such as frogs and tadpoles, and insects.

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.

Three specimens of Belone spp. on exhibit in the Walter Rothschild Zoological Museum.

[edit] 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.

[edit] External links

• FishBase entry on Belonidae
• Brackish Water Aquarium FAQ entry on Xenentodon cancila
• World Sea Fishing article on the North Atlantic gar, Belone belone.
• Annotated Checklist of Fishes: Belonidae