PAREXOCOETUS BRACHYPTERUS - (RICHARDSON, 1846)
Picture courtesy of: Alain Daoulas
Actinopterygii (Gigaclass) > Actinopteri (Class) > Teleostei (Subclass) > Beloniformes (Order) > Exocoetidae (Family) > Parexocoetus (Genus)
Exocet voilier, Sailfin flyingfish, Two-winged flying-fish, Peixe-voador, Pez volador, Volador aletón, Volador velero, Volador de canal, Seilvin-vlieënde vis, Tsumari-tobiuo, ツマリトビウオ, 황날치, 白短鰭擬飛魚, 短鳍拟飞鱼, Cá Chuồn vây ngắn,
Synonymes
Exocaetus brachypterus (Richardson, 1846)
Exocoetus atrodorsalis (Günther, 1867)
Exocoetus brachypterus (Richardson, 1846)
Paraexocoetus brachypterus (Richardson, 1846)
Paraxocoetus brachypterus (Richardson, 1846)
Parexocoetus brachypterus brachypterus (Richardson, 1846)
Ptenonotus melanogeneion (Pietschmann, 1928)
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Description
Dorsal soft rays (total): 12-14, long fin rays; Anal soft rays: 12-14. Body elongate, broadly cylindrical; Head short, snout short and blunt; Mouth small, upper jaw protrusible, jaw teeth small, conical; Fins without spines; Pectoral fin rays: 11-12 branched, moderately long, not reaching past anal base, 1st 2 rays unbranched; Pelvic fin short, barely reaching anal origin; Anal origin before 2nd dorsal ray; Tail deeply forked with a longer lower lobe; Lateral line low on the body, with a branch to origin of pectoral; Scales large, smooth, easily shed; Scale rows: 23-30; Juveniles with paired chin barbels (easily lost). Max. length: 20.0 cm TL, common length: 16.0 cm TL. Depth range: 0 - 20 m.
Color
Dark, iridescent greenish-blue body with a silvery-white lower side, a tall transparent dorsal fin with a large black blotch on the outer tip, grey pelvic fins, and a reddish tinge on the caudal fin.
Etymology
Parexocoetus: from Greek, para = resembling + from Latin, exōcoetus = a fish that sleeps on the shore. Referring to similarity to, and previous placement of Parexocoetus mento in, Exocoetus genus.
brachypterus: from Latin, brachium = harm, fin + from Greek, pteron = wing. Referring to shorter pectoral fins compared to Exocoetus mesogaster, its presumed congener at the time.
Original description: Exocaetus brachypterus Richardson, 1846 - Type localities: Tahiti, Society Islands, French Polynesia, South Pacific; China sea, western Pacific.
Distribution
Red Sea; Indo-West Pacific: KwaZulu-Natal (South Africa), East Africa, Seychelles, Madagascar and western Mascarenes (La Réunin, Mauritius) east to Hawaiian Islands (U. S. A.) and Marquesas Islands (French Polynesia), south to Western Australia, Queensland (Australia), New Caledonia and Tonga.
Biology
Occurs in coastal waters, rare in the open ocean. Capable of leaping out of the water and gliding for considerable distances above the surface. Carnivorous. Not important as food fish, but occasionally taken by fisheries. During breeding, a spawning aggregation composed at least of 3-4 individuals, probably 2-3 males to 1 female, were observed jumping and flying over the water surface, exuding ripe eggs and sperm in the process. Spawning on surface substrate (e.g. flotsam) when present is the usual reproductive mode but other modes may be employed if this substrate is not available. The fertilised eggs may remain suspended in the water surface during its development with the help of the small filaments on the egg surface and the adhesive filaments holding the egg mass together, by increasing the surface to volume ratio of the eggs, which aids in propping the eggs up in the water column. The eggs may also be suspended upon current or become benthic.
Similar species
Parexocoetus mento (Valenciennes, 1847) - Reported from Red Sea; Indo-West Pacific: KwaZulu-Natal (South Africa), East Africa and Persian Gulf east to Marshall Islands and Fiji, north to southern Korea and southern Japan, south to northern Australia; Mediterranean Sea (Red Sea immigrant).
Last update: 1, March 2023
Actinopterygii (Gigaclass) > Actinopteri (Class) > Teleostei (Subclass) > Beloniformes (Order) > Exocoetidae (Family) > Parexocoetus (Genus)
Exocet voilier, Sailfin flyingfish, Two-winged flying-fish, Peixe-voador, Pez volador, Volador aletón, Volador velero, Volador de canal, Seilvin-vlieënde vis, Tsumari-tobiuo, ツマリトビウオ, 황날치, 白短鰭擬飛魚, 短鳍拟飞鱼, Cá Chuồn vây ngắn,
Synonymes
Exocaetus brachypterus (Richardson, 1846)
Exocoetus atrodorsalis (Günther, 1867)
Exocoetus brachypterus (Richardson, 1846)
Paraexocoetus brachypterus (Richardson, 1846)
Paraxocoetus brachypterus (Richardson, 1846)
Parexocoetus brachypterus brachypterus (Richardson, 1846)
Ptenonotus melanogeneion (Pietschmann, 1928)
---------------------------
Description
Dorsal soft rays (total): 12-14, long fin rays; Anal soft rays: 12-14. Body elongate, broadly cylindrical; Head short, snout short and blunt; Mouth small, upper jaw protrusible, jaw teeth small, conical; Fins without spines; Pectoral fin rays: 11-12 branched, moderately long, not reaching past anal base, 1st 2 rays unbranched; Pelvic fin short, barely reaching anal origin; Anal origin before 2nd dorsal ray; Tail deeply forked with a longer lower lobe; Lateral line low on the body, with a branch to origin of pectoral; Scales large, smooth, easily shed; Scale rows: 23-30; Juveniles with paired chin barbels (easily lost). Max. length: 20.0 cm TL, common length: 16.0 cm TL. Depth range: 0 - 20 m.
Color
Dark, iridescent greenish-blue body with a silvery-white lower side, a tall transparent dorsal fin with a large black blotch on the outer tip, grey pelvic fins, and a reddish tinge on the caudal fin.
Etymology
Parexocoetus: from Greek, para = resembling + from Latin, exōcoetus = a fish that sleeps on the shore. Referring to similarity to, and previous placement of Parexocoetus mento in, Exocoetus genus.
brachypterus: from Latin, brachium = harm, fin + from Greek, pteron = wing. Referring to shorter pectoral fins compared to Exocoetus mesogaster, its presumed congener at the time.
Original description: Exocaetus brachypterus Richardson, 1846 - Type localities: Tahiti, Society Islands, French Polynesia, South Pacific; China sea, western Pacific.
Distribution
Red Sea; Indo-West Pacific: KwaZulu-Natal (South Africa), East Africa, Seychelles, Madagascar and western Mascarenes (La Réunin, Mauritius) east to Hawaiian Islands (U. S. A.) and Marquesas Islands (French Polynesia), south to Western Australia, Queensland (Australia), New Caledonia and Tonga.
Biology
Occurs in coastal waters, rare in the open ocean. Capable of leaping out of the water and gliding for considerable distances above the surface. Carnivorous. Not important as food fish, but occasionally taken by fisheries. During breeding, a spawning aggregation composed at least of 3-4 individuals, probably 2-3 males to 1 female, were observed jumping and flying over the water surface, exuding ripe eggs and sperm in the process. Spawning on surface substrate (e.g. flotsam) when present is the usual reproductive mode but other modes may be employed if this substrate is not available. The fertilised eggs may remain suspended in the water surface during its development with the help of the small filaments on the egg surface and the adhesive filaments holding the egg mass together, by increasing the surface to volume ratio of the eggs, which aids in propping the eggs up in the water column. The eggs may also be suspended upon current or become benthic.
Similar species
Parexocoetus mento (Valenciennes, 1847) - Reported from Red Sea; Indo-West Pacific: KwaZulu-Natal (South Africa), East Africa and Persian Gulf east to Marshall Islands and Fiji, north to southern Korea and southern Japan, south to northern Australia; Mediterranean Sea (Red Sea immigrant).
Last update: 1, March 2023