Keeltail needlefish

Taxobox
name = Keeltail needlefish

---

image_width = 240 px
image_caption = "Platybelone argalus argalus"
regnum = Animalia
phylum = Chordata
classis = Actinopterygii
ordo = Beloniformes
familia = Belonidae
genus = "Platybelone"
species = "P. argalus "
binomial = "Platybelone argalus"
binomial_authority = (Lesueur, 1821)
subdivision_ranks = Subspecies
subdivision =
*"Platybelone argalus argalus"
*"P. a. annobonensis"
*"P. a. lovii"
*"P. a. platura"
*"P. a. platyura"
*"P. a. pterura"
*"P. a. trachura"The Keeltail needlefish, sometimes called the Keeled needlefish, is a tropical fish of the family Belonidae. It was described by the French naturalist Charles Alexandre Lesueur in 1821.

Description

Keeltail needlefish, like all needlefish, closely resemble North American freshwater gars (family Lepisosteidae). It is most recognized by the large, flat keels-like structures running on either side of the tail REEF FISH Identification FLORIDA CARIBBEAN BAHAMAS; Humann, Paul and Ned Deloach; New World Publications Inc., Jacksonville, Fl; pp. 58-59 ] . They have 12 to 15 rays on their dorsal fins, and 17 to 20 rays on their anal fin. Keeltail needlefish have gill-rakers, their caudal peduncles have lateral keelsciteweb
url=http://www.fishbase.org/Summary/SpeciesSummary.php?id=973
title=Fishbase.org entry on Keeltail needlefish
accessdate=2008-05-14] , with a lateral line running ventral to it, and grow up to 50 cm long [ Claro, R., 1994. Características generales de la ictiofauna. p. 55-70. In R. Claro (ed.) Ecología de los peces marinos de Cuba. Instituto de Oceanología Academia de Ciencias de Cuba and Centro de Investigaciones de Quintana Roo. ] The Keeltail needlefish's top jaw is also smaller than the lower one ] .

Distribution and habitat

Keeltail needlefish are found in the western Atlantic ocean between North Carolina and Brazil, this includes the Gulf of Mexico, the Bahamas, and the Caribbean sea [ Robins, C.R. and G.C. Ray, 1986. A field guide to Atlantic coast fishes of North America. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, U.S.A. 354 p. ] . In the Indian ocean, they are known off of east Africa,with range continuing into the Pacific reaching the Hawaiian islands and continuing north to the Ogasawara Islandsciteweb
url=http://mcr.lternet.edu/education/encyclopedia/speciescard.php?refID=3&CreatureID=38
title= mcr.lternet.edu entry on Keeltail needlefish
accessdate=2008-06-08] .Keeltail needle fish have also been found around the Arabian Peninsula, in the Red sea and Persian gulf ] They usually occur offshore and are abundant around islands [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. ] . They school in sheltered parts of reefs [Kuiter, R.H. and T. Tonozuka 2001 Pictorial guide to Indonesian reef fishes. Part 1. Eels- Snappers, Muraenidae - Lutjanidae. Zoonetics, Australia. 302 p.] , feeding mainly on smaller fish. Keeltail needlefish are egg-laying, attaching their eggs tofloating objects with specialized tendril-like structures on the egg's surface [Breder, C.M. and D.E. Rosen, 1966. Modes of reproduction in fishes. T.F.H. Publications, Neptune City, New Jersey. 941 p. ] .

ub-species

There are seven known subspecies of Keeltail needlefish, each being found in a specific region. [Belonidae (pp. 258-260), Scomberesocidae (pp. 261-262), Exocoetidae (pp. 263-267), Hemiramphidae (pp. 268-269). In: Hureau & Monod 1973 [ref. 6590] . Clofnam v. 1.] [Family Belonidae Bonaparte 1832 -- needlefishes. California Academy of Sciences Annotated Checklists of Fishes No. 16: 1-22.] [Review of marine belonids [needlefishes] of the western Pacific and Indian oceans. Trudy Instituta okeanologii im. P.P. Shirshova v. 84: 3-83. [In Russian. English translation from National Marine Fisheries Service Systematics Laboratory, Washington D.C., translation no. 68.] ] [A preliminary revision of the Belonidae. Zoologische Verhandelingen (Leiden) No. 54: 1-96.] [Neue Wirbelthiere zu der Fauna von Abyssinien gehörig. Fische des Rothen Meeres. Frankfurt-am-Main. 1-148, Pls. 1-33. [1835:1-28, Pls. 1-7; 1836:29-52, Pls. 8-14; 1837:53-80, Pls. 15-21; 1838:81-148, Pls. 22-33.] . Fische Rothen Meeres 1835-38. [For dates see Sawyer 1952 [ref. 13582] .] ] [Shore fishes collected by the "Albatross" expedition in Lower California, with descriptions of new species. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History v. 35 (art. 16): 139-181.] [Catalogue critique des types de poissons du Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle (suite). Ordre des Beloniformes. Cybium v. 21 (no. 1): 5-35.] Some of the most recognized subspecies are "Platybelone argalus platura", most common in the Red Sea and Persian Gulf; ] "Platybelone argalus platyura", known from the rest of the Indo-pacific; and "Platybelone argalus argalus" from the Atlantic. ]

References

External links

*http://www.fishbase.org/summary/SpeciesSummary.cfm?id=973
*http://mcr.lternet.edu/education/encyclopedia/speciescard.php?refID=3&CreatureID=38
*http://zipcodezoo.com/Animals/P/Platybelone_argalus_platyura.asp