Flat needlefish

{{Short description|Species of fish}} {{Speciesbox | image = Needlefish.jpg | image_caption = | image2 = Ablennes hians.jpg | status = LC | status_system = IUCN3.1 | status_ref = <ref name="iucn status 19 November 2021">{{cite iucn |author=Collette, B. |author2=Polanco Fernandez, A. |author3=Aiken, K.A. |date=2015 |title=''Ablennes hians'' |volume=2015 |article-number=e.T13486514A15603320 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2015-4.RLTS.T13486514A15603320.en |access-date=19 November 2021}}</ref> | parent_authority = D. S. Jordan & Fordice, 1887<ref name=FWP>{{cite web|url=https://www.fishwisepro.com/Genus/Ablennes-5|title=Genus Ablennes Jordan & Fordice 1887 |year=1887 |work=FishWisePro |access-date=16 April 2020}}</ref> | taxon = Ablennes hians | authority = Valenciennes, 1846 | synonyms = *''Ablennes pacificus'' Walford, 1936 *''Belone hians'' Valenciennes, 1846 *''Belone maculata'' Poey, 1860 *''Belone melanostigma'' Valenciennes, 1846 *''Belone schismatorhynchus'' Bleeker, 1850 *''Mastaccembelus melanostigma'' Valenciennes, 1846 *''Mastacembelus fasciatus'' Bleeker, 1873 *''Tylosurus caeruleofasciatus'' Stead, 1908 *''Tylosurus hians'' Valenciennes, 1846 }} The '''flat needlefish''' ('''''Ablennes hians'''''), or '''barred longtom''',<ref name = kinch>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.</ref> 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,<ref name = collette4>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.</ref> but are not often eaten because of their green-colored flesh.<ref name = cervigon>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.</ref>

The generic name ''Ablennes'' – formerly misspelled ''Athlennes'' – means 'without {{linktext|mucosity}}',<ref>{{cite book |last1=International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature |title=Opinions and declarations |date=1939 |location=London |url=https://archive.org/details/opinionsdeclarat11958inte/page/94 |quote=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 {{linktext|lapsus calami}}, a {{lang|grc|θ}} being inadvertently written instead of a {{lang|grc|β}}. In transliterating the Greek into Latin this lapsus was not noticed, and the Latin name was written ''Athlennes'' instead of ''Ablennes''. [...] 'without mucosity' [...]}}</ref> from the ancient Greek privative ''a-'' prefix and ''blennos'' ('mucus'). Its specific name {{wikt-lang|la|hians}} 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.<ref name = "Fishbase">{{FishBase|genus=Ablennes|species=hians|year=2009|month=02}}</ref> They have 86-93 vertebrae.<ref name = "Fishbase" /> Dorsally, flat needlefish are blueish, white ventrally, with dark blotches and 12-14 vertical bars in the middle of their bodies.<ref name = collette>Collette, B.B. 1986 Belonidae p. 385-387. In M.M. Smith and P.C. Heemstra (eds.) Smiths' sea fishes. Springer-Verlag, Berlin.</ref> Flat needlefish have elongated bodies, with scythe-shaped pectoral and anal fins.<ref name = "Fishbase" /> They also have a dark lobe on the posterior part of their dorsal fins.<ref name = "Fishbase" />

The longest recorded flat needlefish measured 140 cm.<ref name = ifga>IGFA 2001 Database of IGFA angling records until 2001. IGFA, Fort Lauderdale, USA.</ref> Measurements for flat needlefish body length do not include their caudal fins and heads because the fish's long jaws are often broken off.<ref name = "Fishbase" /> The largest recorded weight for a flat needlefish was 4.8 kg.<ref name = ifga />

==Distribution and habitat== Flat needlefish are found worldwide in tropical and temperate seas.<ref name = "Fishbase" /> In the Eastern Atlantic, they are known from Cape Verde and Dakar to Moçamedes in Angola.<ref name = Collette2>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.</ref> In the western Atlantic, they are known from the Chesapeake Bay south to Brazil.<ref name = Robins>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> They are found throughout the Indian Ocean,<ref name = "Fishbase" /> and in the western Pacific from the southern islands of Japan to Australia<ref name = Collette3>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.</ref> and Tuvalu.<ref name = chapman>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.</ref> A few specimens have been collected from Syria to Israel in the Mediterranean Sea,<ref>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</ref> likely migrants from the Red Sea.

Flat needlefish usually live in neritic ocean waters near islands,<ref name = fischer>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.</ref> estuaries,<ref name = claro>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.</ref> and near coastal rivers,<ref name = Pandare>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.</ref> where they feed on smaller fish<ref name = collette4 /> and occasionally gather in large schools.<ref name = cervigon />

==Reproduction== Flat needlefish lay eggs, which attach themselves to floating debris by filaments on the surface of each egg.<ref name = breder>Breder, C.M. and D.E. Rosen 1966 ''Modes of reproduction in fishes''. T.F.H. Publications, Neptune City, New Jersey. 941 p.</ref> Only the left gonad in both sexes is developed, and in males, the right gonad is sometimes wholly absent.<ref name = smith>Smith, C.L. 1997''National 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.</ref>

==References== {{Reflist|2}}

==External links== *[http://www.fishbase.org/Summary/SpeciesSummary.cfm?ID=972 Fishbase] *[https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=165548 ITIS]

flat needlefish Category:Pantropical fish flat needlefish Category:Fish of Aruba Category:Marine fish of Nicaragua