Flat needlefish explained

The flat needlefish (Ablennes hians), or barred longtom,^[1] the only known member of the genus Ablennes, is a marine fish of the family Belonidae. Flat needlefish are considered gamefish, frequently caught with the help of artificial lights,^[2] but are not often eaten because of their green-colored flesh.^[3]

The generic name Ablennes – formerly misspelled Athlennes – means ‘without ’,^[4] from the ancient Greek privative a- prefix and blennos (‘mucus’).Its specific name is Latin for "gaping".

Description

Although they have no spines, they do have several soft rays. About 23-26 rays are on the dorsal fin and 24-28 are on the anal fin. They have 86-93 vertebrae. Dorsally, flat needlefish are blueish, white ventrally, with dark blotches and 12-14 vertical bars in the middle of their bodies.^[5] Flat needlefish have elongated bodies, with scythe-shaped pectoral and anal fins. They also have a dark lobe on the posterior part of their dorsal fins.

The longest recorded flat needlefish measured 140 cm.^[6] Measurements for flat needlefish body length do not include their caudal fins and heads because the fish's long jaws are often broken off. The largest recorded weight for a flat needlefish was 4.8 kg.

Distribution and habitat

Flat needlefish are found worldwide in tropical and temperate seas. In the Eastern Atlantic, they are known from Cape Verde and Dakar to Moçamedes in Angola.^[7] In the western Atlantic, they are known from the Chesapeake Bay south to Brazil.^[8] They are found throughout the Indian Ocean, and in the western Pacific from the southern islands of Japan to Australia^[9] and Tuvalu.^[10] A few specimens have been collected from Syria to Israel in the Mediterranean Sea,^[11] likely migrants from the Red Sea.

Flat needlefish usually live in neritic ocean waters near islands,^[12] estuaries,^[13] and near coastal rivers,^[14] where they feed on smaller fish and occasionally gather in large schools.

Reproduction

Flat needlefish lay eggs, which attach themselves to floating debris by filaments on the surface of each egg.^[15] Only the left gonad in both sexes is developed, and in males, the right gonad is sometimes wholly absent.^[16]

External links

• Fishbase
• ITIS

Notes and References

1. Kinch, J., 1999. Economics and environment in island Melanesia: a general overview of resource use and livelihoods on Brooker Island in the Calvados chain of the Louisiade Archipelago, Milne Bay Province, Papua New Guinea. A report prepared for Conservation International, Port Moresby, National Capital District, Papua New Guinea.
2. Collette, B.B. 1995 "Belonidae. Agujones, maraos". p. 919-926. In W. Fischer, F. Krupp, W. Schneider, C. Sommer, K.E. Carpenter and V. Niem (eds.) Guia FAO para Identification de Especies para lo Fines de la Pesca. Pacifico Centro-Oriental. 3 Vols. FAO, Rome.
3. 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.
4. Book: International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature . Opinions and declarations . 1939 . London . The original publication, Jordan & Fordice, 1886, p. 359, gives the derivation of the generic name in question with English equivalent. In this derivation there is an evident, a Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: θ being inadvertently written instead of a Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: β. In transliterating the Greek into Latin this lapsus was not noticed, and the Latin name was written Athlennes instead of Ablennes. [...] ‘without mucosity’ [...].
5. Collette, B.B. 1986 Belonidae p. 385-387. In M.M. Smith and P.C. Heemstra (eds.) Smiths' sea fishes. Springer-Verlag, Berlin.
6. IGFA 2001 Database of IGFA angling records until 2001. IGFA, Fort Lauderdale, USA.
7. Collette, B.B. and N.V. Parin 1990 Belonidae. p. 592-597. 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. 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.
9. 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 (Mugilidae to Carangidae). FAO, Rome.
10. Chapman, L.B. and P. Cusack 1990 South Pacific Commission Deep Sea Fisheries Development Project Report on Second Visit to Tuvalu 30 August - 7 December 1983. South Pacific Commission, Noumea, New Caledonia.
11. Atlas of Exotic Fishes in the Mediterranean Sea (Ablennes hians). 2nd Edition. 2021. 366p. CIESM Publishers, Paris, Monaco.https://ciesm.org/atlas/fishes_2nd_edition/Ablennes_hians.pdf
12. Fischer, W., I. Sousa, C. Silva, A. de Freitas, J.M. Poutiers, W. Schneider, T.C. Borges, J.P. Feral and A. Massinga 1990 Fichas FAO de identificaçao de espécies para actividades de pesca. Guia de campo das espécies comerciais marinhas e de águas salobras de Moçambique. Publicaçao preparada em collaboraçao com o Instituto de Investigaçao Pesquiera de Moçambique, com financiamento do Projecto PNUD/FAO MOZ/86/030 e de NORAD. Roma, FAO. 1990. 424 p.
13. 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.
14. Pandaré, D., S. Niang, H. Diadhiou and B. Capdeville 1997 Ichtyofauna of Casamance: reproduction and distribution according to the salinity gradient. Bull. Inst. Fondam. Afr. Noire (A. Sci. Nat) 49(1):167-190.
15. Breder, C.M. and D.E. Rosen 1966 Modes of reproduction in fishes. T.F.H. Publications, Neptune City, New Jersey. 941 p.
16. Smith, C.L. 1997National Audubon Society field guide to tropical marine fishes of the Caribbean, the Gulf of Mexico, Florida, the Bahamas, and Bermuda. Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., New York. 720 p.