Actinopterygii (ray-finned fishes) >
Beloniformes (Needle fishes) >
Hemiramphidae (Halfbeaks)
Etymology: Hemiramphus: Greek, hemi = half + Greek, rhamphos = bill, peak (Ref. 45335).
Environment / Climate / Range
Ecology
Marine; reef-associated; depth range 0 - 5 m (Ref. 3723), usually 0 - 2 m (Ref. 40849). Subtropical, preferred 24°C (Ref. 107945); 43°N - 13°S
Western Atlantic: Massachusetts, USA and northern Gulf of Mexico to Brazil, including the Caribbean Sea (Ref. 3723); absent in Bermuda. Eastern Atlantic: Cape Verde and Dakar, Senegal to Luanda, Angola (Ref. 4497).
Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm 19.3  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 55.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 2683); common length : 35.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 3633); max. published weight: 200.00 g (Ref. 5217)
An inshore, surface-dwelling species forming sizeable schools (Ref. 3723). Feeds mainly on sea grasses and small fishes (Ref. 3723). Mainly used as bait for offshore game fishes such as sailfishes and marlins; utilized as a food fish in the West Indies (Ref. 3723).
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
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. (Ref. 7251)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 115185)
CITES (Ref. 94142)
Not Evaluated
Threat to humans
Reports of ciguatera poisoning (Ref. 30911)
Human uses
Fisheries: minor commercial; bait: usually
More information
ReferencesAquacultureAquaculture profileStrainsGeneticsAllele frequenciesHeritabilityDiseasesProcessingMass conversion
Tools
Special reports
Download XML
Internet sources
Estimates of some properties based on models
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref.
82805): PD
50 = 0.5005 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00251 (0.00190 - 0.00331), b=3.16 (3.08 - 3.24), in cm Total Length, based on LWR estimates for this species (Ref.
93245).
Trophic Level (Ref.
69278): 2.3 ±0.1 se; Based on diet studies.
Resilience (Ref.
69278): Medium, minimum population doubling time 1.4 - 4.4 years (K=0.58 questionable; assuming tmax>3).
Vulnerability (Ref.
59153): Low to moderate vulnerability (27 of 100) .