Mirrorwing flyingfish

The mirrorwing flyingfish (Hirundichthys speculiger) is a flying fish of the family Exocoetidae. It was first described by the French zoologist, Achille Valenciennes in a 22-volume work titled Histoire naturelle des poissons (Natural History of Fishes), which was a collaboration with Georges Cuvier.

Mirrorwing flyingfish
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Beloniformes
Family: Exocoetidae
Genus: Hirundichthys
Species:
H. speculiger
Binomial name
Hirundichthys speculiger
Synonyms
  • Cypselurus hyperistius Fowler, 1919
  • Cypselurus speculiger Valenciennes, 1847
  • Exocoetus hyperistius Fowler, 1919
  • Exocoetus nigripennis Valenciennes, 1847
  • Exocoetus polleni Bleeker, 1866
  • Exocoetus speculiger Valenciennes, 1847

Description

Mirrorwing flyingfish have 10-12 soft rays on their dorsal fins and 11-13 rays on their anal fins.[2] Their bodies are generally dark, with blue on top and silver-white on bottom.[2] The dorsal and caudal fins are both grayish, while the other fins are hyaline.[3] Juveniles have more elongated bodies and mottled fins.[3] Adults can grow up to 30 cm (1 ft) long,[4] but usually they reach about 24 cm.[5]

Distribution and habitat

Mirrorwing flyingfish are known from warm surface waters worldwide,[6] but are most common in tropical and temperate waters. In the Atlantic Ocean, they are common to the tropical areas in the east and all along the North and South American coasts,[4] but are uncommon in the Gulf of Guinea,[7] Caribbean Sea, and Gulf of Mexico.[8] They are curiously absent from the Benguela Current.[6] In the Indian Ocean, mirrorwing are known from south Africa,[3] Mauritius, Rodrigues, the Maldives,[9] and the Chagos Archipelago.[10] In the Pacific Ocean, they are known from most regions save the seas of southeast Asia.[6] Mirrorwing flyingfish spawn year round in the offshore waters where they normally live attaching their eggs to floating debris in masses.[11] Mirrorwing eggs use a series of filaments to achieve this attachment, the arrangement of which can be used to identify them as mirrorwing eggs.[11]

References
  1. Collette, B.; Singh-Renton, S.; Robertson, R.; et al. (2015). "Hirundichthys speculiger". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2015: e.T190292A15551447. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2015-4.RLTS.T190292A15551447.en.
  2. Froese, Rainer and Pauly, Daniel, eds. (2009). "Hirundichthys speculiger" in FishBase. 04 2009 version.
  3. Heemstra, P.C. and N.V. Parin 1986 Exocoetidae. p. 391-396. In M.M. Smith and P.C. Heemstra (eds.) Smiths' sea fishes. Springer-Verlag, Berlin.
  4. Cervigón, F., R. Cipriani, W. Fischer, L. Garibaldi, M. Hendrickx, A.J. Lemus, R. Márquez, J.M. Poutiers, G. Robaina and B. Rodriguez 1992 Fichas FAO de identificación de especies para los fines de la pesca. Guía de campo de las especies comerciales marinas y de aquas salobres de la costa septentrional de Sur América. FAO, Rome. 513 p. Preparado con el financiamento de la Comisión de Comunidades Europeas y de NORAD.
  5. Jack S. Grove, Robert J. Lavenberg. The fishes of the Galápagos Islands - Science - 1997. Pg. 256-258
  6. Parin, N.V. 1999 Exocoetidae. Flyingfishes. p. 2162-2179. In K.E. Carpenter and V.H. Niem (eds.) FAO species identification guide for fishery purposes. The living marine resources of the WCP. Vol. 4. Bony fishes part 2 (Mugilidae to Carangidae). FAO, Rome.
  7. Parin, N.V. and R.H. Gibbs, Jr. 1990 Exocoetidae. p. 583-591. In J.C. Quero, J.C. Hureau, C. Karrer, A. Post and L. Saldanha (eds.) Check-list of the fishes of the eastern tropical Atlantic (CLOFETA). JNICT, Lisbon; SEI, Paris; and UNESCO, Paris. Vol. 2.
  8. Gibbs, R.H. Jr. 1978 Exocoetidae. In W. Fischer (ed.) FAO species identification sheets for fishery purposes. Western Central Atlantic (Fishing Area 31). Vol. 2. pag.var.
  9. Fricke, R. 1999 Fishes of the Mascarene Islands (Réunion, Mauritius, Rodriguez): an annotated checklist, with descriptions of new species. Koeltz Scientific Books, Koenigstein, Theses Zoologicae, Vol. 31: 759 p.
  10. Winterbottom, R. and R.C. Anderson 1997 A revised checklist of the epipelagic and shore fishes of the Chagos Archipelago, Central Indian Ocean. Ichthyol. Bull. Smith. Inst. (66):1-28.
  11. Munro, ISR (1954). "Eggs and Larvae of the Four-winged Flying Fish, Hirundichthys speculiger (Valenciennes)". Australian Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research. 5 (1): 64–69. doi:10.1071/MF9540064. Retrieved 2009-05-10.
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