Hirundichthys rondeletii
Blackwing Flyingfish
Collection Details
Specimens
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Records
Taxonomic Hierarchy
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned Fishes)
Beloniformes
Exocoetidae (Flyingfishes)
Hirundichthys
Hirundichthys rondeletii (Blackwing 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
Relatively slender; dorsal fin low (longest ray 9.3% to 10.3% SL) with 11 or 12 rays; anal fin originates below or slightly posterior to dorsal fin origin with 11 to 13 rays; scales above lateral line 7; predorsal scales 27 to 30; snout acute and shorter than eye diameter; mouth oblique, nearly reaching anterior margin of eye; lower jaw extends slightly beyond upper jaw; jaw teeth relatively large, conical, unicuspid; palatine teeth absent; gill rakers on first arch 25 to 29; snout length 4.4% to 5.1%, head length 20.6% to 21.5%, eye diameter 6.4% to 7.2%, interorbital width 7.7% to 9.1%, body depth 13.3% to 14.9%, snout to dorsal fin origin 71.2% to 73.8%, snout to pelvic fin origin 58.1% to 61.6%, snout to anal fin origin 72.6% to 75.3%, pectoral fin length 72.2% to 76.3%, pelvic fin length 30.9% to 33.5% SL; pectoral fin extends beyond dorsal fin base with 16 to 19 rays; pelvic fins relatively long
Dark dorsally and silvery ventrally; dorsal fin dusky; pectoral fin bluish black with narrow transparent posterior margin; juveniles have transparent dorsal fin with dark area near distal edge
Distribution
Massachusetts and Bermuda to southern Brazil, including the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea
Habitat Associations
Tropical seas, worldwide; depth range not specified
Biology
Maximum known size 250 mm SL
Eggs have numerous filaments
Inhabits oceanic surface waters. Capable of leaping out of the water and gliding for considerable distances above the surface (Ref. 3720). Feeds on zooplankton (Ref. 109257). Eggs with bunch of filaments opposed by a single filament on opposite pole (Ref. 6523). Reported to have no importance to fisheries (Ref. 109257). Depth assumed from ecology data.
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC), assessed 2008-05-01. 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
Bruun 1935 (as Danichthys rondeletii)
Hoese and Moore 1977
Parin 1986
C. R. Robins et al. 1986
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.
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.
Robins, C.R. and G.C. Ray (1986) A field guide to Atlantic coast fishes of North America. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, U.S.A. 354 p.
Carpenter, K.E. and N. De Angelis (eds.) (2016) The living marine resources of the Eastern Central Atlantic. Vol. 3: Bony fishes part 1 (Elopiformes to Scorpaeniformes). FAO Species Identification Guide for Fishery Purposes, Rome, FAO. pp. 1511-2350.
Schwartz, F.J. (2012) Additional fishes inhabiting North Carolina's estuarine and marine ocean waters to 2,000+ m depths. Journal of North Carolina Academy of Science 128(2):33-38.
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