Tylosurus crocodilus
Houndfish
Collection Details
Specimens
Photos
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Records
Taxonomic Hierarchy
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned Fishes)
Beloniformes
Belonidae (Needlefishes)
Tylosurus
Tylosurus crocodilus (Houndfish)
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 oval in cross section, lower jaw slightly longer than upper jaw; jaw teeth in bands, sharp pointed, with inner teeth enlarged and caninelike; vomerine teeth absent; gill rakers absent; snout length 18.3% to 18.6%, head length 30.1% to 34.2%, head width 7.4% to 7.7%, eye diameter 2.8% to 4%, height of anterior dorsal fin lobe 8.5% to 9.4%, height of anterior anal fin lobe 8.4% to 10%, body depth 7.4% to 8.6% SL; pectoral fin with 13 to 15 rays; dorsal fin with strongly concave margin and 21 to 23 rays; anal fin similar to dorsal fin with 18 to 22 rays; caudal fin deeply forked with lower lobe much longer than upper lobe; scales very small, predorsal scales number 240 to 290; vertebrae number 79 to 84
Dark bluish green dorsally and silvery ventrally, with dark blue stripe along flank; juveniles have small black keel on caudal peduncle and an elevated black lobe in posterior part of dorsal fin
Distribution
North Carolina to Salvador, Brazil, including the Gulf of Mexico, the Bahamas, and the Caribbean Sea
Gulf of Mexico
Habitat Associations
Tropical and subtropical seas, both offshore and coastal waters, more common in coastal waters
Biology
Small pelagic fishes
101.3 mm SL
A pelagic species (Ref. 26340) found over lagoon and seaward reefs. Solitary or in small groups. Feeds on fishes (Ref. 11889). Oviparous (Ref. 205). Eggs may be found attached to objects in the water by tendrils on the egg's surface (Ref. 205). Feared by fishers because they can cause puncture wounds with their sharp snouts when jumping out of the water, e.g. when alarmed or attracted to lights at night. Although sold fresh and considered a good food fish, its market is limited due to the green-colored flesh (Ref. 5217). Widespread in tropical Indo-Pacific, divisible in two subspecies (Ref 90102). Caught by casting or trolling surface or near-surface lures; also with purse seines and drift nets (Ref. 9682).
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: Medium (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; gamefish.
References
Beebe and Tee-Van 1933 (as T. raphidoma)
Bohlke and Chaplin 1968
Randall 1968
Collette and Parin 1970
G. B. Smith et al. 1975
Hoese and Moore 1977
Collette 1978b
Castro-Aguirre and Marquez-Espinoza 1981
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.
Randall, J.E., G.R. Allen and R.C. Steene (1990) Fishes of the Great Barrier Reef and Coral Sea. University of Hawaii Press, Honolulu, Hawaii. 506 p.
Blaber, S.J.M. (1980) Fish of the Trinity Inlet System of North Queensland with notes on the ecology of fish faunas of tropical Indo-Pacific estuaries. Aust. J. Mar. Freshwater Res. 31:137-146.
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.
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.
Sommer, C., W. Schneider and J.-M. Poutiers (1996) FAO species identification field guide for fishery purposes. The living marine resources of Somalia. FAO, Rome. 376 p.
Mundy, B.C. (2005) Checklist of the fishes of the Hawaiian Archipelago. Bishop Mus. Bull. Zool. (6):1-704.
Allen, G.R. and M.V. Erdmann (2012) Reef fishes of the East Indies. Perth, Australia: Universitiy of Hawai'i Press, Volumes I-III. Tropical Reef Research.
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