Strongylura notata
Redfin Needlefish
NS
GNR
Collection Details
Specimens
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Taxonomic Hierarchy
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned Fishes)
Beloniformes
Belonidae (Needlefishes)
Strongylura
Strongylura notata (Redfin 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.)
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Characters
Elongate and oval in cross section, with lower jaw slightly longer than upper jaw, posterior section of maxilla concealed under preorbital bone, and a compressed caudal peduncle lacking lateral keels. Jaw teeth are in bands and are sharply pointed, with innermost ones enlarged and caninelike. Gill rakers are absent. Snout length is 38.2% to 42.6%, head depth is 8.8% to 9.8%, head width is 7.3% to 8%, orbit diameter is 5.3% to 5.5%, interorbital width is 6.4% to 8.9%, preopercular width is 7.3% to 8.3%, height of anterior dorsal fin lobe is 11.8% to 14%, height of anterior anal fin lobe is 14.5% to 15.4%, pectoral fin length is 14.7% to 16.8%, and pelvic fin length is 7.4% to 7.7% of body length. Pectoral fin is not falcate and has 11 or 12 rays. Dorsal fin has strongly concave margin and 12 to 15 fin rays. Anal fin is similar to dorsal fin and has 12 to 15 rays. Caudal fin is emarginate but not forked. Scales are relatively large, and predorsal scales number 76 to 117. Vertebrae number 53 to 61. Gonads are paired.
Color is bluish green dorsally and silvery ventrally, with dorsal, caudal, and anal fins reddish or orangish and black bar on posterior margin of preoperculum.
Distribution
Western Atlantic Ocean from the east coast of Florida and Bermuda to Central America, including the Gulf of Mexico, the Bahamas, and the Lesser Antilles.
Habitat Associations
Inshore waters, including bays, estuaries, and occasionally freshwater
Biology
Maximum known size is 610 mm TL
Inhabits coastal waters, mostly in bays and inlets. May enter freshwater (Ref. 9710). Oviparous (Ref. 205). Eggs may be found attached to objects in the water by tendrils on the egg's surface (Ref. 205).
Reproductive mode: dioecism; fertilization: external; nonguarders (open water/substratum egg scatterers); parental care: none.
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC), assessed 2012-08-21. Resilience: High (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
Phylogeny and Morphologically Similar Fishes
Distinguished from the other species of the family by the combination of characters described
References
Beebe and Tee-Van 1933
Hubbs 1936
Bohlke and Chaplin 1968
Randall 1968
Collette 1978b
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.
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.
Randall, J.E. (1996) Caribbean reef fishes. Third Edition - revised and enlarged. T.F.H. Publications, Inc. Ltd., Hong Kong. 3nd ed. 368 p.
Sierra, L.M., R. Claro and O.A. Popova (1994) Alimentacion y relaciones tróficas. p. 263-284. In Rodolfo Claro (ed.) Ecología de los Peces Marinos de Cuba. Instituto de Oceanología Academia de Ciencias de Cuba and Centro de Investigaciones de Quintana Roo, Mexico.
Collette, B.B. (2003) Belonidae (needlefishes). p. 1104-1113. In K.E. Carpenter (ed.) FAO species identification guide for fishery purposes. The living marine resources of the Western Central Atlantic. Vol. 2: Bony fishes part 1 (Acipenseridae to Grammatidae).
Collette, B.B., K.E. Bemis, N.V. Parin and I.B, Shakhovskoy (2019) Fishes of the western North Atlantic. Order Beloniformes (Needlefishes, Sauries, Halfbeaks, and Flyingfishes). Memoirs of the Sears Foundation of Marine Research Mem. 1 (pt 10):1-252.
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