Deep-Sea taxon details
Belonidae Bonaparte, 1835
125451 (urn:lsid:marinespecies.org:taxname:125451)
accepted
Family
- Genus Ablennes Jordan & Fordice, 1887
- Genus Belone Cuvier, 1816
- Genus Platybelone Fowler, 1919
- Genus Strongylura van Hasselt, 1824
marine, brackish, fresh, terrestrial
Not documented
Description Tropical and temperate fishes of the surface layer ranging from open ocean to freshwater. Small scales. Without isolated...
Description Tropical and temperate fishes of the surface layer ranging from open ocean to freshwater. Small scales. Without isolated finlets. Dorsal fin usually with 10-26 rays. Anal fin usually with 14-23 rays. Wide mouth opening; jaws elongate and with many needlelike teeth; 2 species with the lower jaw longer than the upper. Slender silvery bodys shaded a darker bluish or greenish dorsally. When alarmed or attracted to lights at night, they are capable of skipping across the surface at high speed and have been known to impale fishermen with sometimes fatal results (Ref. 1602). Surface-dwelling predators of small fishes, also known as longtoms or sea gars. Important food for larger fishes. To 1.3 m maximum length in Tylosurus crocodilus. Marine: ISSCAAP 39, freshwater ISSCAAP 13. [details]
Froese, R. and D. Pauly. Editors. (2025). FishBase. Belonidae Bonaparte, 1835. Accessed through: Glover, A.G.; Higgs, N.; Horton, T. (2025) World Register of Deep-Sea species (WoRDSS) at: https://www.marinespecies.org/deepsea/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=125451 on 2026-09-05
Glover, A.G.; Higgs, N.; Horton, T. (2026). World Register of Deep-Sea species (WoRDSS). Belonidae Bonaparte, 1835. Accessed at: https://www.marinespecies.org/deepsea/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=125451 on 2026-09-05
Date
action
by
taxonomy source
Van Der Laan, R.; Eschmeyer, W. N.; Fricke, R. (2014). Family-group names of Recent fishes. <em>Zootaxa.</em> 3882(1): 1-230., available online at https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.3882.1.1 [details] Available for editors 
context source (PeRMS) Chirichigno, N.; Cornejo, M. (2001). Catálogo comentado de los peces marinos del Perú. <em>2ª ed. Instituto del Mar de Perú. Publicación Especial. Callao.</em> 314 p. [details]
basis of record van der Land, J.; Costello, M.J.; Zavodnik, D.; Santos, R.S.; Porteiro, F.M.; Bailly, N.; Eschmeyer, W.N.; Froese, R. (2001). Pisces, <B><I>in</I></B>: Costello, M.J. <i>et al.</i> (Ed.) (2001). <i>European register of marine species: a check-list of the marine species in Europe and a bibliography of guides to their identification. Collection Patrimoines Naturels,</i> 50: pp. 357-374 (look up in IMIS) [details]
additional source Fricke, R., Eschmeyer, W. N. & Van der Laan, R. (eds). (2026). ECoF. Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes: Genera, Species, References. <em>California Academy of Sciences. San Francisco.</em> Electronic version accessed dd mmm 2026., available online at http://researcharchive.calacademy.org/research/Ichthyology/catalog/fishcatmain.asp [details]
context source (PeRMS) Chirichigno, N.; Cornejo, M. (2001). Catálogo comentado de los peces marinos del Perú. <em>2ª ed. Instituto del Mar de Perú. Publicación Especial. Callao.</em> 314 p. [details]
basis of record van der Land, J.; Costello, M.J.; Zavodnik, D.; Santos, R.S.; Porteiro, F.M.; Bailly, N.; Eschmeyer, W.N.; Froese, R. (2001). Pisces, <B><I>in</I></B>: Costello, M.J. <i>et al.</i> (Ed.) (2001). <i>European register of marine species: a check-list of the marine species in Europe and a bibliography of guides to their identification. Collection Patrimoines Naturels,</i> 50: pp. 357-374 (look up in IMIS) [details]
additional source Fricke, R., Eschmeyer, W. N. & Van der Laan, R. (eds). (2026). ECoF. Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes: Genera, Species, References. <em>California Academy of Sciences. San Francisco.</em> Electronic version accessed dd mmm 2026., available online at http://researcharchive.calacademy.org/research/Ichthyology/catalog/fishcatmain.asp [details]
Present Inaccurate Introduced: alien Containing type locality
Unreviewed
Description Tropical and temperate fishes of the surface layer ranging from open ocean to freshwater. Small scales. Without isolated finlets. Dorsal fin usually with 10-26 rays. Anal fin usually with 14-23 rays. Wide mouth opening; jaws elongate and with many needlelike teeth; 2 species with the lower jaw longer than the upper. Slender silvery bodys shaded a darker bluish or greenish dorsally. When alarmed or attracted to lights at night, they are capable of skipping across the surface at high speed and have been known to impale fishermen with sometimes fatal results (Ref. 1602). Surface-dwelling predators of small fishes, also known as longtoms or sea gars. Important food for larger fishes. To 1.3 m maximum length in Tylosurus crocodilus. Marine: ISSCAAP 39, freshwater ISSCAAP 13. [details]
| Language | Name | |
|---|---|---|
| English | needlefishes | [details] |
| German | Hornhechte | [details] |
| Japanese | ダツ科 | [details] |
| Norwegian Bokmål | horngjelfamilien | [details] |
| Norwegian Nynorsk | horngjelfamilien | [details] |
| Swedish | näbbgäddfiskar | [details] |
To Biological Information System for Marine Life (BISMaL)
To European Nucleotide Archive, ENA (Belonidae)
To Genbank
To NMNH Extant Collection (Belonidae FIN035252 Slide 35 mm)
To NMNH Extant Collection (Belonidae RAD118684-001)
To ITIS
To European Nucleotide Archive, ENA (Belonidae)
To Genbank
To NMNH Extant Collection (Belonidae FIN035252 Slide 35 mm)
To NMNH Extant Collection (Belonidae RAD118684-001)
To ITIS
Unreviewed
Hosted externally
Hosted externally
