Ablennes hians
Flat Needlefish
NS
GNR
Collection Details
Specimens
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Records
Taxonomic Hierarchy
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned Fishes)
Beloniformes
Belonidae (Needlefishes)
Ablennes
Ablennes hians (Flat Needlefish)
Description
This species account was compiled from
Composite (multiple sources) (McEachran, J.D. and J.D. Fechhelm. Fishes of the Gulf of Mexico. University of Texas Press, Austin.)
and processed using AI-assisted text extraction.
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Characters
Elongate and compressed in cross section, lower jaw slightly longer than upper jaw, falcate pectoral fins, dorsal and anal fins with high falcate anterior lobes, jaw teeth in bands, sharp pointed and small, gill rakers absent, snout length 33% to 35.9%, head depth 5% to 6.2%, head width 3.2% to 3.9%, orbit diameter 3.2% to 4.2%, interorbital width 2.8% to 3.2%, preopercular width 3% to 3.1%, height of anterior dorsal fin lobe 5.4% to 7%, height of anterior anal fin lobe 7% to 9.1%, pectoral fin length 6.9% to 8.6%, pelvic fin length 4.9% to 6.1% of body length, pectoral fin with 13 to 15 rays, dorsal fin with strongly emarginate margin and 23 to 26 rays, anal fin with 24 to 28 rays, caudal peduncle lacks lateral keels, caudal fin strongly forked with lower lobe much longer than upper lobe, vertebrae number 93 to 97
Bluish green dorsally and silvery ventrally, with broad, dark blue stripe and about 12 to 14 prominent dark vertical bars on flank, elevated black lobe in posterior part of dorsal fin in both juveniles and adults
Distribution
Massachusetts to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, including the Gulf of Mexico, the Bahamas, and the Caribbean Sea
Habitat Associations
Tropical and subtropical seas, offshore but occurs near shore in insular areas
Biology
Pelagic fishes
Maximum known size is 1,100 mm TL
Eggs are about 3 mm in diameter
Inhabits neritic and oceanic waters but more often found near islands (Ref. 5213). Found in estuaries (Ref. 26340), and coastal rivers (Ref. 33587). Sometimes forming large schools (Ref. 5217). Feeds mainly on small fishes (Ref. 9279). Oviparous (Ref. 205). Eggs may be found attached to objects in the water by filaments on the egg's surface (Ref. 205). Since the jaws are frequently broken, the maximum length is given as body length excluding head and caudal fin. Usually caught with the help of artificial lights (Ref. 9279). Marketed fresh and salted; smoked or frozen (Ref. 9987). Market limited due to the green-colored flesh (Ref. 5217). In females, only left gonad is developed, and in males the right gonad is small or absent (Ref. 26938).
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC), assessed 2012-08-20. Resilience: Medium (Assuming tmax>3; K=0.6).
Phylogeny and Morphologically Similar Fishes
Distinguished from other species of the family by the combination of characters
Commercial or Environmental Importance
Fisheries: minor commercial; gamefish.
References
Bohlke and Chaplin 1968
Collette and Parin 1970
Hoese and Moore 1977
Collette 1978b
Hardy 1978
Uyeno et al. 1983
C. R. Robins et al. 1986
Cervigon 1991
Boschung 1992
Breder, C.M. and D.E. Rosen (1966) Modes of reproduction in fishes. T.F.H. Publications, Neptune City, New Jersey. 941 p.
Collette, B.B. (1984) Belonidae. In W. Fischer and G. Bianchi (eds.) FAO species identification sheets for fishery purposes. Western Indian Ocean (Fishing Area 51), Volume 1. FAO, Rome.
Fischer, W., I. Sousa, C. Silva, A. de Freitas, J.M. Poutiers, W. Schneider, T.C. Borges, J.P. Feral and A. Massinga (1990) Fichas FAO de identificaçao de espécies para actividades de pesca. Guia de campo das espécies comerciais marinhas e de águas salobras de Moçambique. Publicaçao preparada em collaboraçao com o Instituto de Investigaçao Pesquiera de Moçambique, com financiamento do Projecto PNUD/FAO MOZ/86/030 e de NORAD. Roma, FAO. 1990. 424 p.
Collette, B.B. (1999) Belonidae. Needlefishes. p. 2151-2161. In K.E. Carpenter and V.H. Niem (eds.) FAO species identification guide for fishery purposes. The living marine resources of the Western Central Pacific. Volume 4. Bony fishes part 2 (Mugilidae to Carangidae). FAO, Rome.
Uyeno, T., K. Matsuura and E. Fujii (eds.) (1983) Fishes trawled off Suriname and French Guiana. Japan Marine Fishery Resource Research Center, Tokyo, Japan. 519 p.
IGFA (2001) Database of IGFA angling records until 2001. IGFA, Fort Lauderdale, USA.
Feitoza, B.M., L.A. Rocha, O.J. Luiz-Júnior, S.R. Floeter and J.L. Gasparini (2003) Reef fishes of St. Paul's Rocks: new records and notes on biology and zoogeography. aqua, J. Ichthyol. Aquat. Biol. 7(2):61-82.
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