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Strongylura incisa

(Large-Scale Long-Tom, Reef Needlefish)

Overview:

Family: Needlefishes; Occurs over both lagoon and seaward reefs. Oviparous (Ref. 205). Eggs may be found attached to objects in the water by tendrils on the egg's surface (Ref. 205).

Taxonomy

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  • Domain: Eukaryota Whittaker & Margulis,1978 - eukaryotes
    • Kingdom: Animalia Linnaeus, 1758 - Linnaeus, 1758 - animals
      • Subkingdom: Bilateria (Hatschek, 1888) Cavalier-Smith, 1983 - (Hatschek, 1888) Cavalier-Smith, 1983 - bilaterians

Unambiguous Synonyms:

  1. Belone incisa Valenciennes, 1846
  2. Belone leiuroides Bleeker, 1851
  3. Belone liuroides Günther, 1866
  4. Rhaphiobelone robusta Schultz, 1953
  5. Tylosurus terebra Whitley, 1927

Notes:

Name Status: Accepted Name. Latest taxonomic scrutiny: Group expert : Collette B.B., Data last modified by FishBase 23-Aug-1999

Physical Description

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Family Belonidae:

Distribution: Marine and freshwater. Tropical and temperate waters. Diagnostic Features: Elongate fishes with both upper and lower jaws extended into long beaks filled with sharp teeth (except in neotenic Belonion); nostrils in a pit anterior to eyes. No spines in fins; dorsal and anal fins posterior in position; pectoral fins short. Dorsal fin with 11-43 rays; anal fin with 12-39 rays, pelvic fins, with 6 soft rays, are located in an abdominal position; and pectoral fins with 5-15 rays. Lateral line running down from pectoral fin origin and then along ventral margin of body. Scales small, cycloid, easily detached. Precaudal vertebrae 33-65, caudal vertebrae 19-41 and total vertebrae 52-97. Colour: These fishes live at the surface and are protectively colored for this mode of life by being green or blue on the back and silvery white on the lower sides and belly. Usually, a dusky or dark blue stripe along sides; fleshy tip of lower jaw frequently red or orange. Some fresh water needlefishes reach only 6 or 7 cm in total length while some marine species may attain 2 m. Composition of Family: The Belonidae contains 10 genera and 34 species. Four genera are monotypic: the southern African Petalichthys, the worldwide Ablennes and Platybelone, and apparently the Asian freshwater Xenetodon. The eastern Atlantic Belone contains two species. Tylosurus contains six species of strictly marine species. Three genera are restricted to freshwaters of South America: Belonion (two species), Potamorrhaphis (three), and Pseudotylosurus (two). The most speciose genus, Strongylura, contains 14 species, mostly marine, some estuarine, and three strictly freshwater, two of which are found in Central and South America, S. fluviatilis from Ecuador and Colombia and S. hubbsi from Mexico and Guatemala. Five species are considered polytypic, containing a total of 17 subspecies. Habitat and Biology: Most species are marine, but some occur in freshwaters. Carnivorous, feeding largely on small fishes which they catch sideways in their beaks. Needlefishes tend to leap and skitter at the surface and some people have been injured when accidentally struck by them, particularly at night when the fishes are attracted by lights. Interest to Fisheries: Caught by casting or trolling surface or near-surface lures and in floating gill nets. Flesh excellent in flavor although some people have misgivings about eating it due to the presence of many small bones and the green color of the bones.

The family Belonidae belongs to the Class Actinopterygii (ray-finned fishes) and the Order Beloniformes. It contains 10 genera and 34 species. It may be found in Marine, Brackish, and Freshwater environments and is primarily Marine. Some members of this family are used in the aquarium trade. Reproductively, most members of this family are nonguarders. The main mode of swimming of adult fish in this family is carangiform. Members of this family have been dated back to the middle Oligocene epoch of the Tertiary period. This family may be found from 65° n to 40° s and 122° w to 154° e. Etymology of this family name: Greek, belone = needle

Distribution

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Range and Population

Indo-Pacific: Maldives and the Nicobar Islands in the Indian Ocean and widespread in the Western Central Pacific east to Fiji and Samoa.

Habitat

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Biome

Saltwater. Reef-associated.

Similar Species

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Members of the genus Strongylura:

There are approximately 39 species and subspecies in this genus: Tylosurus acus subsp. rafale · S. almeida · S. anastomella (Pacific Needlefish) · S. anostomella · S. capensis · Tylosurus acus subsp. rafale · Tylosurus acus subsp. rafale · S. exilas · S. exilis (California Needlefish) · S. ferox · S. fluviatilis · S. hubbsi (Maya Needlefish) · S. hubbsi paratype · S. incisa (Large-Scale Long-Tom) · S. incisus · S. krefftii (Freshwater Long-Tom) · S. leiura (Banded Long-Tom) · S. leiura ferox (Banded Needlefish) · S. leiura leiura · S. leiurus · S. mariana · S. marina (Agujon) · S. marinus · S. matina · S. notata (Redfin Needlefish) · S. notata forsythia · S. notata notata (Agujon) · S. notatus · S. raphidana · S. scapularis (Shoulderspot Needlefish) · S. senegalensis (Senegal Needlefish) · S. S. (Blackspot Longtom) · S. strongylurus · S. timacu · S. timuca · S. timuco · S. timucu (Atlantic Needlefish) · S. tumucu · S. urvillii (D'urville's Long-Tom)

Members of the genus Selene:

There are approximately 15 species and subspecies in this genus: S. brevoorti · S. brevoortia · S. brevoortii (Airfin Lookdown) · S. brownii (Caribbean Moonfish) · S. declivifrons · S. dorsalis (African Lookdown) · S. gallus · S. orstedii (Dollarfish) · S. peruana · S. peruviana (Jack) · S. setapinnis (Atlantic Moonfish) · S. dorsalis · S. setipinnus · S. spixii · S. vomer (Dollarfish)

Bibliography

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  • Allen, G.R. and M. Adrim (2003). Coral reef fishes of Indonesia. Zool. Stud. 42(1):1-72.
  • Collette, B.B. (1999). Belonidae. Needlefishes. p. 2151-2161. In K.E. Carpenter and V.H. Niem (eds.) FAO species identification guide for fishery purposes. The living marine resources of the Western Central Pacific. Volume 4. Bony fishes part 2 (Mugil
  • Collette, Bruce B. 2003. Family Belonidae Bonaparte 1832: Needlefishes. California Academy of Sciences Annotated Checklists of Fishes, no. 16. 1-22.
  • David, G. (1985). Pêche de subsistance et milieu naturel: les mangrove de Vanuatu et leur intérêt halieutique. Notes et documents d'océanographie. Mission ORSTOM de Port-Vila, 13: 67 p. multigr.
  • Fao-fidi 1997 FAO standard common names and scientific names of commercial species (in alphabetic order). The Senior Fishery Statistician, FIDI, FAO, Rome, Italy. 136 p.
  • Kailola, P.J. (1987). The fishes of Papua New Guinea. A revised and annotated checklist. Vol. 1. Myxinidae to Synbranchidae. Research Bulletin No. 41. Department of Fisheries and Marine Resources, Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea. 194 p.
  • Masuda, H., K. Amaoka, C. Araga, T. Uyeno and T. Yoshino (1984). The fishes of the Japanese Archipelago. Vol. 1 (text). Tokai University Press, Tokyo, Japan. 437 p. (text), 370 pls.
  • McCormack, G. (2000). Cook Islands biodiversity and natural heritage database. Sent by Gerald McCormack as RTF document in May 2000 for use in FishBase.
  • Myers, R.F. (1991). Micronesian reef fishes. Second Ed. Coral Graphics, Barrigada, Guam. 298 p.
  • Myers, R.F. (1999). Micronesian reef fishes: a comprehensive guide to the coral reef fishes of Micronesia, 3rd revised and expanded edition. Coral Graphics, Barrigada, Guam. 330 p.
  • Rau, N. and A. Rau (1980). Commercial marine fishes of the Central Philippines (bony fish). German Agency for Technical Cooperation, Germany. 623 pp.
  • Shao, K.-T., J.-P. Chen, P.-H. Kao and C.-Y. Wu (1993). Fish fauna and their geographical distribution along the western coast of Taiwan. Acata Zoologica Taiwanica 4(2): 113-140.
  • Thollot, P. (1996). Les poissons de mangrove du lagon sud-ouest de Nouvelle-Calédonie. ORSTOM Éditions, Paris.
  • Wass, R. C. (1984). An annotated checklist of the fishes of Samoa. Natl. Ocean. Atmos. Adminis. Tech. Rept., Natl. Mar. Fish. Serv., Spec. Sci. Rept. Fish. (781).

More Info

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Notes

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Contributors:

  • Bisby, F.A., Y.R. Roskov, M.A. Ruggiero, T.M. Orrell, L.E. Paglinawan, P.W. Brewer, N. Bailly, J. van Hertum, eds (2007). Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of Life: 2007 Annual Checklist. Species 2000: Reading, U.K.
  • Brands, S.J. (comp.) 1989-2006. Systema Naturae 2000. The Taxonomicon. Universal Taxonomic Services, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Accessed April 20, 2007.
  • Collette, Bruce B. (from FishBase).
  • FishBase 2006.
  • Global Biodiversity Information Facility. Accessed March 01, 2008. http://www.gbif.org Mediated distribution data from 3 providers.

Data Sources:

Accessed through GBIF Data Portal March 01, 2008:

  • FishBase: FishBase DiGIR Provider - Philippine Server
  • Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University: MCZ Fish Collection
  • National Chemical Laboratory: IndOBIS, Indian Ocean Node of OBIS
  • OZCAM (Online Zoological Collections of Australian Museums) Provider: Online Zoological Collections of Australian Museums

Identifiers:

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Last Revised: April 21, 2008