Fourwing flyingfish (Hirundichthys affinis)

Scientific name: Hirundichthys affinis G?nther, 1866

Fourwing flyingfish (Hirundichthys affinis)

The Fourwing flyingfish (Hirundichthys affinis) is a marine fish of the family Exocoetidae.

Biology

Dorsal spines (total): 0; Dorsal soft rays (total): 11; Anal spines: 0; Anal soft rays: 11 - 12. Body elongate, thick, somewhat flattened ventrally; snout shorter than eye, blunt; palatine teeth usually absent; dorsal and anal fins set far back on body, their bases short; dorsal fin low, rays at anterior end the longest; anal fin origin slightly before, or 1 or 2 rays behind dorsal fin origin; pectoral fins strikingly long, 60 to 70 % of SL, only first ray unbranched; pelvic fins large, reaching well beyond anal fin origin; more than 25 scale rows of predorsal scales; dorsally, the color is usually iridescent blue or green in life; dorsal fin colorless or only slightly pigmented; pectoral fins dark, with a pale basal triangle and a narrow white margin (on trailing edge when extended).

Source: FishBase, licensed CC BY-NC 4.0.

Species facts

Scientific name
Hirundichthys affinis
Family
Exocoetidae (Flyingfishes)
Order
Beloniformes (Needle fishes)
Class
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned fishes)
Maximum length
30.0
Common length
24.0
Depth range
100 m (328 ft)
Environment
Marine; pelagic-neritic; oceanodromous; depth range 100 - ? m
Climate
Subtropical
Distribution
Eastern Atlantic: Guinea to Angola. Western Atlantic: Gulf Stream off Virginia, USA and northern Gulf of Mexico to northern Brazil, including the Caribbean Sea. Northwest Atlantic: Canada. Indo-Pacific: Arabian Sea.
Conservation status (IUCN)
Not Evaluated
Threat to humans
Harmless
Uses
Fisheries: commercial; bait: usually
Resilience
High, minimum population doubling time less than 15 months (tm

Sources

Taxonomy, distribution and biology data: FishBase (Froese, R. and D. Pauly, eds.), licensed CC BY-NC 4.0.

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