Teleostei (teleosts) >
Beloniformes (Needle fishes) >
Exocoetidae (Flyingfishes)
Etymology: Cypselurus: Greek, kypselos, ou = swift + Greek,oura = tail (Ref. 45335).
More on author: Bleeker.
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Marine; pelagic-neritic; oceanodromous (Ref. 51243); depth range 0 - 20 m. Tropical; - 35°S
Indo-West Pacific: Red Sea to Philippines, Viet Nam, New Guinea, and New South Wales, Australia.
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 18.0 cm SL male/unsexed; (Ref. 9839)
This elongated and broadly cylindrical species is distinguished by having the following characters: pectoral fins high on sides, strikingly long, always extending beyond dorsal-fin origin; no spines on fins; small and conical teeth in jaws in one irregular row; no three-cuspid teeth; no palatine teeth; juveniles (25-60 mm) without barbel and with six bands on belly (Ref. 87965).
Found in near-shore surface waters, never spread to open sea. Feeds on zooplankton and small fish (Ref. 9839).
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
Parin, N.V., 1996. On the species composition of flying fishes (Exocoetidae) in the West-Central part of tropical Pacific. J. Ichthyol. 36(5):357-364. (Ref. 27313)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2024-2)
Threat to humans
Harmless
Human uses
Fisheries: of no interest
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Estimates based on models
Preferred temperature (Ref.
123201): 24.6 - 29.3, mean 28.5 °C (based on 3038 cells).
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref.
82804): PD
50 = 0.5002 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00631 (0.00288 - 0.01384), b=3.05 (2.85 - 3.25), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this (Sub)family-body shape (Ref.
93245).
Trophic level (Ref.
69278): 4.0 ±0.64 se; based on food items.
Resilience (Ref.
120179): High, minimum population doubling time less than 15 months (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref.
59153): Low vulnerability (12 of 100).