Exocoetus volitans
Tropical Two-Wing Flyingfish
Collection Details
Specimens
Photos
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Records
Taxonomic Hierarchy
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned Fishes)
Beloniformes
Exocoetidae (Flyingfishes)
Exocoetus
Exocoetus volitans (Tropical Two-Wing Flyingfish)
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
Moderately robust body; snout moderately blunt; pectoral fins very long; anal fin anteriorly located; snout shorter than eye diameter; mouth oblique, not reaching anterior margin of eye; lower jaw extends slightly beyond upper jaw; jaw and palatine teeth absent; gill rakers on first arch 29-37; snout length 4.3-5.6% SL; head length 24.9-27.1% SL; eye diameter 6.2-6.8% SL; interorbital width 7.9-8.6% SL; body depth 16.8-19.4% SL; snout to dorsal fin origin 64.7-68.4% SL; snout to pelvic fin origin 41.9-44.1% SL; snout to anal fin origin 66.9-69.5% SL; pectoral fin length 73.2-77.1% SL; pelvic fin length 13.3-14.5% SL; pectoral fin rays 14 or 15; dorsal fin rays 14; anal fin rays 12-14; scales above lateral line 6; predorsal scales 17-20; vertebrae 43-45
Dark dorsally and silvery ventrally; pectoral and dorsal fins uniform light gray; pelvic and anal fins transparent; caudal fin dark gray
Distribution
Northeastern Florida to southern Brazil, including the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea
Gulf of Mexico; not common in the western Gulf of Mexico
Habitat Associations
Oceanic, tropical seas; rarely captured near shore
Biology
Maximum known size 180 mm SL
Adults occur in surface waters, both near and far from the coast (Ref. 5217). Form schools. Capable of leaping out of the water and gliding for long distances above the surface. Feed mostly on crustaceans and other planktonic animals. Preyed upon by swordfish, tunas and many other larger pelagic fishes (Ref. 9987). Oviparous, with planktonic eggs and larvae (Ref. 36606).
Reproductive mode: dioecism; fertilization: external; nonguarders; parental care: none. Oviparous (Ref. 36606).
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC), assessed 2013-01-28. Resilience: High (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
Phylogeny and Morphologically Similar Fishes
Distinguished from other species of the family by the combination of characters
Commercial or Environmental Importance
Fisheries: commercial.
References
Bruun 1935
Parin 1986
C. R. Robins et al. 1986
Breder, C.M. and D.E. Rosen (1966) Modes of reproduction in fishes. T.F.H. Publications, Neptune City, New Jersey. 941 p.
Heemstra, P.C. and N.V. Parin (1986) Exocoetidae. p. 391-396. In M.M. Smith and P.C. Heemstra (eds.) Smiths' sea fishes. Springer-Verlag, Berlin.
Parin, N.V. (1986) Exocoetidae. p. 612-619. In P.J.P. Whitehead, M.-L. Bauchot, J.-C. Hureau, J. Nielsen and E. Tortonese (eds.) Fishes of the north-eastern Atlantic and the Mediterranean. UNESCO, Paris. Vol. 2.
Parin, N.V. (1999) Exocoetidae. Flyingfishes. p. 2162-2179. In K.E. Carpenter and V.H. Niem (eds.) FAO species identification guide for fishery purposes. The living marine resources of the WCP. Vol. 4. Bony fishes part 2 (Mugilidae to Carangidae). FAO, Rome.
Frimodt, C. (1995) Multilingual illustrated guide to the world's commercial warmwater fish. Fishing News Books, Osney Mead, Oxford, England. 215 p.
Parin, N.V. (1996) On the species composition of flying fishes (Exocoetidae) in the West-Central part of tropical Pacific. J. Ichthyol. 36(5):357-364.
Watson, W. (1996) Exocoetidae: flyingfishes. p. 643-657. In H.G. Moser (ed.) The early stages of fishes in the California Current Region. California Cooperative Oceanic Fisheries Investigations (CalCOFI) Atlas No. 33. Allen Press, Inc., Lawrence, Kansas. 1505 p.
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