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A Virtual Museum on the State's Fish Biodiversity

Euleptorhamphus velox

Flying Halfbeak
Collection Details

Specimens

Photos

There are no photos available for this taxon yet.

Records

Taxonomic Hierarchy

Actinopterygii (Ray-finned Fishes) Beloniformes Hemiramphidae (Halfbeaks) Euleptorhamphus Euleptorhamphus velox (Flying Halfbeak)

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. It may contain errors in spelling, punctuation, or formatting. When citing, please reference the original source rather than this page. Learn more about our species accounts.

Characters

Elongate and ribbonlike body; very long, pointed lower jaw; very long pectoral fins; symmetrical caudal fin; jaw teeth in bands, weak, with lower jaw teeth tricuspid; gill rakers on first arch 26-35; snout length 4-6.7% SL, head length 12.4-15.1% SL, head width 3.4-4.4% SL, orbit diameter 3.1-3.9% SL, interorbital width 2.6-3.6% SL; height of anterior dorsal fin lobe 6.8-11.8% SL, height of anterior anal fin lobe 6.8-10.7% SL; pectoral fin length 25-28% SL, pelvic fin length 3-3.7% SL; pectoral fin with 7 long rays and 1 short ray; dorsal fin long-based with 21-24 rays; anal fin origin posterior to dorsal fin origin with 20-24 rays; caudal peduncle slender and compressed; caudal fin moderately forked with ventral lobe exceeding dorsal lobe; body and cheek with moderately large cycloid scales; vertebrae 71-73
Olivaceous dorsally and silvery ventrally

Distribution

Rhode Island to Gulf of Mexico
Gulf of Mexico

Habitat Associations

Offshore, tropical and subtropical Atlantic; capable of leaping from water and gliding short distances

Biology

281 mm TL
Occurs in coastal and oceanic waters (Ref. 2683).
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC), assessed 2012-08-21. Resilience: High (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).

Phylogeny and Morphologically Similar Fishes

Distinguished from other species of the family by the combination of characters described

Commercial or Environmental Importance

Fisheries: commercial.

References

Collette 1965
Bright and Cashman 1974
G. B. Smith et al. 1975
Hoese and Moore 1977
C. R. Robins et al. 1986
Cervigon 1991
Boschung 1992
Collette, B.B. and N.V. Parin (1990) Hemiramphidae. p. 579-582. In J.C. Quero, J.C. Hureau, C. Karrer, A. Post and L. Saldanha (eds.) Check-list of the fishes of the eastern tropical Atlantic (CLOFETA). JNICT, Lisbon; SEI, Paris; and UNESCO, Paris. Vol. 2.
Claro, R. (1994) Características generales de la ictiofauna. p. 55-70. In R. Claro (ed.) Ecología de los peces marinos de Cuba. Instituto de Oceanología Academia de Ciencias de Cuba and Centro de Investigaciones de Quintana Roo.
Smith, C.L. (1997) National Audubon Society field guide to tropical marine fishes of the Caribbean, the Gulf of Mexico, Florida, the Bahamas, and Bermuda. Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., New York. 720 p.

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