Swallowfish
| Swallowfish | ||||||||||||
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Swallowfish ( Exocoetus volitans ) |
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Exocoetus volitans | ||||||||||||
| Linnaeus , 1758 |
The swallowfish ( Exocoetus volitans ) is a fish from the flying fish family . He is already mentioned by Pliny the Elder with reference to Aristotle .
Swallowfish are able to fly up to 200 meters. Your flight is like gliding on a glider . They break through the surface of the water at a speed of over 50 km / h. The fish then spread their pectoral and pelvic fins and so come into a glider flight. When they hit the water surface again, they accelerate again by rapid movements of the half-submerged tail, more precisely the larger lower lobe of the rather stiff caudal fin. The process can be repeated several times. In general, the "flying" of the fish is interpreted as a flight behavior from predators. Alexander von Humboldt believed they were doing it for sheer pleasure.
Occurrence
Swallowfish inhabit the subtropical and temperate Atlantic and the Mediterranean .
supporting documents
- ↑ Otto E. Wieghardt: Fish of the Canary Islands (PDF).
Web links
- Swallowfish on Fishbase.org (English)