Flying fishes

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Flying fishes
Cheilopogon melanurus

Cheilopogon melanurus

Systematics
Perch relatives (Percomorphaceae)
Ovalentaria
Superordinate : Earfish relatives (Atherinomorphae)
Order : Garfish (Beloniformes)
Subordination : Belonoidei
Family : Flying fishes
Scientific name
Exocoetidae
Rafinesque , 1810

Flying fish (Exocoetidae) are bony fish from the order of the garfish-like , which with their wing-like fins are equally well adapted to gliding through water and air. Flying fish are found in tropical and subtropical regions of the Atlantic , Indo-Pacific and the Mediterranean .

Features of the flight

In contrast to the South American hatchet-bellied tetra , flying fish cannot hit their pectoral fins in order to fly actively like birds (see flapping flight ). You catapult yourself out of the water with one jump and glide short distances over the surface of the water. The fish reach the furthest flight distances when they glide through the air very close to and parallel to the surface of the water: Gliding at a height of 1.5 meters, the fish can stay in the air for over 30 seconds and cover distances of up to 400 meters . The flight performance based on aerodynamics is comparable to that of birds. Occasionally they can glide at speeds of up to 70 km / h and altitudes of up to five meters, so that they sometimes end up in low boats.

Gliding through the air is generally interpreted as escape behavior from predators .

anatomy

Flying fish have exceptionally large pectoral fins set high on their bodies . In the subfamily Cypselurinae, the pelvic fins are also enlarged like wings, so that four wings are available for gliding flight. The shoulder girdle and chest muscles are very strong. The caudal fin is deeply split, the lower lobe longer than the upper. The upper and lower jaws of the flying fish, in contrast to most other garfish species, are of the same length, the mouth is terminal and cannot be extended. Only the fry of some species have elongated mandibles. The body resembles that of the herring-like and is covered by large, gently sloping scales. The relatively large nostril is right in front of the eyes. The swim bladder is not chambered and also large.

Flying fish stay on average smaller than 30 centimeters, the largest subspecies Cheilopogon pinnatibarbatus californicus reaches a length of 45 centimeters.

Reproduction

They stick their eggs, some of which are provided with adhesive threads ( not with Exocoetus ), to floating objects such as driftwood, sargassum or floating pumice stone . On the Coromandel Coast, fishermen attract flying fish by hanging bundles of straw in the water as a spawning area.

Internal system

There are four subfamilies, seven genera and about 75 species. The genus Oxyporhamphus , originally regarded as a basal flying fish, is now classified as half-beak (Hemiramphidae). According to a phylogenetic study, Oxyporhamphus belongs to the half- beak genus Hemiramphus .

Relationships within the Exocoetidae according to Lewallen et al. 2011.
  Exocoetidae  


  Cypselurinae  



 Cheilopogon A


   

 Cypselurus


   

 Prognichthys




   

 Cheilopogon B



   

 Hirundichthys



   

 Exocoetinae



   

 Parexocoetinae



   

 Fodiatorinae



Template: Klade / Maintenance / Style
Indeterminate flying fish shortly after take off

Trivia

literature

Individual evidence

  1. Hyungmin Park, Haecheon Choi. Aerodynamic characteristics of flying fish in gliding flight. Journal of Experimental Biology, 2010; 213: 3269-3279 doi: 10.1242 / jeb.046052
  2. NR Lovejoy, M. Pour Iran, BB & Collette; Phylogeny and Jaw Ontogeny of Beloniform Fishes PDF
  3. Eric A. Lewallen, Robert L. Pitman, Shawna L. Kjartanson & Nathan R. Lovejoy: Molecular systematics of flyingfishes (Teleostei: Exocoetidae): evolution in the epipelagic zone. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2011, 102, 161-174.
  4. mālolo in Hawaiian Dictionaries

Web links

Commons : Flying Fish  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files