# Flying gurnard

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Species of fish

This article is about the species. For the family, see [Dactylopteridae](/source/Dactylopteridae).

Flying gurnard A flying gurnard near Crete, Greece Conservation status Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)[1] Scientific classification Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Actinopterygii Order: Syngnathiformes Family: Dactylopteridae Genus: Dactylopterus Lacépède, 1801 Species: D. volitans Binomial name Dactylopterus volitans (Linnaeus, 1758) Synonyms Callionymus pelagicus Rafinesque, 1818 Cephalacanthus spinarella (Linnaeus, 1758) Cephalacanthus volitans (Linnaeus, 1758) Dactilopterus volitans (Linnaeus, 1758) Dactylopterus blochii Swainson, 1839 Dactylopterus communis Owen, 1853 Dactylopterus fasciatus Swainson, 1839 Dactylopterus occidentalis Swainson, 1839 Dactylopterus spinarella (Linnaeus, 1758) Dactylopterus tentaculatus Swainson, 1839 Dactylopterus vulgaris Steindachner, 1867 Gasterosteus spinarella Linnaeus, 1758 Gonocephalus macrocephalus Gronow, 1854 Polynemus sexradiatus Mitchill, 1818 Trigla fasciata Bloch & Schneider, 1801 Trigla volitans Linnaeus, 1758

The **flying gurnard** (***Dactylopterus volitans***), also known as the **helmet gurnard**, is a species of [Syngnathiformes](/source/Syngnathiformes) fish belonging to the family [Dactylopteridae](/source/Dactylopteridae). It is a [bottom-dwelling](/source/Benthic_zone) fish that inhabits [tropical](/source/Tropical) to warm temperate waters on both sides of the Atlantic.[2][3]

It is the only species in the genus *Dactylopterus* making it [monotypic](/source/Monotypic_taxon). Similar and related species from the genus *[Dactyloptena](/source/Dactyloptena)* are found in the [Indian](/source/Indian_Ocean) and [Pacific Oceans](/source/Pacific_Ocean).

## Taxonomy

The flying gurnard is a [Syngnathiform](/source/Syngnathiformes), an order of fish that includes [seahorses](/source/Seahorse), [seamoths](/source/Pegasidae), [pipefishes](/source/Pipefish) and other groups. It is a member of the family [Dactylopteridae](/source/Dactylopteridae) along with *[Dactyloptena](/source/Dactyloptena)*. The genus it is in contains only species which makes it a [monospecific](/source/Monotypic_taxon) taxa.[4]

It used to be classed within the order [Scorpaeniformes](/source/Scorpaeniformes) but was moved to its current classification based on molecular evidence.[4]

## Habitat

It is native to the Atlantic Ocean being found on both sides. On the American side, it is found as far north as [Massachusetts](/source/Massachusetts) (exceptionally as far as [Canada](/source/Canada)) and as far south as [Argentina](/source/Argentina), including the [Caribbean Sea](/source/Caribbean_Sea) and [Gulf of Mexico](/source/Gulf_of_Mexico). On the European and African side, it ranges from the [English Channel](/source/English_Channel) to [Angola](/source/Angola), including the [Mediterranean Sea](/source/Mediterranean_Sea).[3]

## Description

It reaches up to 50 cm (20 in) in length and 1.8 kg (4.0 lb) in weight.[3]

This fish is variable in coloration, being brownish or greenish with reddish or yellowish patches. The fish also has large eyes.[5]

### Pectoral fins

Each [pectoral fin](/source/Pectoral_fin) can be separated into two distinct sections. The anterior side (the digging side) mainly consist of segmented and flexible fin rays but has an anterior robust unsegmented ray providing an edge. This edge allows them to dig into the substrate in search for prey. The posterior side is also supported by unsegmented rays.[6]

When excited, the fish spreads its pectoral fins to make "wings". They are semitransparent, with a [phosphorescent](/source/Phosphorescence), bright-blue coloration at their tips.

## Behavior

The fish's main diet consists of small fish, [bivalves](/source/Bivalvia), and [crustaceans](/source/Crustacean).[7] They will use their pectoral fins to dig into the sediment to access prey items living within the sediments. Then they capture it by using oral suction feeding. When digging, they will typically use only one of their pectoral fins for digging. Each cycle of digging consist of 1-7 cycles of movement which occurs at a frequency of 1.15–3.74 cycles per second. To dig, it will move its fins forwards and then medially above the substrate. It will then twisted it medially and simultaneously depressed so that the anterior ray impacts and enters the substrate. It is then drawn backwards and laterally to disturb the substrate.[6]

### Acoustics

The acoustic repertoire of *Dactylopterus volitans* consist of two distinct sounds, grunt A and grunt B, that are produced in an alternating pattern. Grunt A is a 225 Hertz harmonic sound that is composed of two to nine pulses that lasted around 30 milliseconds. These are either produced in isolation or in bursts with distinct short and long intervals. Grunt B is a about 170 Hertz composed of two to four pulses that lasts around 110 milliseconds.[8]

## Gallery

		- In the [Caribbean](/source/Caribbean)

		- [Jamaica](/source/Jamaica)

		- In [Malta](/source/Malta)

		- In Malta

		- At [St. Vincent](/source/Saint_Vincent_(Saint_Vincent_and_the_Grenadines))

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-IUCN_1-0)** Carpenter, K.E.; Munroe, T. & Robertson, R. (2015). ["*Dactylopterus volitans*"](https://doi.org/10.2305%2FIUCN.UK.2015-4.RLTS.T185182A1777936.en). *[The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species](/source/The_IUCN_Red_List_of_Threatened_Species)*. **2015**: e.T185182A1777936. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.2305/IUCN.UK.2015-4.RLTS.T185182A1777936.en](https://doi.org/10.2305%2FIUCN.UK.2015-4.RLTS.T185182A1777936.en).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** ["flying gurnard | marine fish"](http://www.britannica.com/animal/flying-gurnard). *Encyclopædia Britannica*. Retrieved 15 June 2016.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-fishbase_3-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-fishbase_3-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-fishbase_3-2) [Froese, Rainer](/source/Rainer_Froese); [Pauly, Daniel](/source/Daniel_Pauly) (eds.). ["*Dactylopterus volitans*"](https://www.fishbase.org/summary/SpeciesSummary.php?genusname=Dactylopterus&speciesname=volitans). *[FishBase](/source/FishBase)*. Dec 2007 version.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-:1_4-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-:1_4-1) Song, Ha Yeun; Choi, Young Ji; Jo, Seonmi; Kim, Bora; Jung, Seung-Hyun; Yoo, Jong Su; Lee, Dae-Sung (23 December 2019). ["Characterization of the complete mitochondrial genome of Dactylopterus volitans (Syngnathiformes, Dactylopteridae)"](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7748829/). *Mitochondrial DNA. Part B, Resources*. **5** (1): 351–352. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1080/23802359.2019.1704651](https://doi.org/10.1080%2F23802359.2019.1704651). [ISSN](/source/ISSN_(identifier)) [2380-2359](https://search.worldcat.org/issn/2380-2359). [PMC](/source/PMC_(identifier)) [7748829](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7748829). [PMID](/source/PMID_(identifier)) [33366552](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33366552).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** Bigelow, H. B. and W. C. Schroeder. [Flying Gurnard, *Dactylopterus volitans* (Linnaeus) 1758.](http://www.gma.org/fogm/Dactylopterus_volitans.htm) Fishes of the Gulf of Maine. Fishery Bulletin 74. United States Fish & Wildlife Service. 1953.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-:0_6-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-:0_6-1) Davenport, John; Wirtz, Peter (10 November 2019). ["Digging with 'hands': observations of food capture in the flying gurnard Dactylopterus volitans (Linnaeus, 1758)"](https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00222933.2019.1705415). *Journal of Natural History*. **53** (41–42): 2489–2501. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1080/00222933.2019.1705415](https://doi.org/10.1080%2F00222933.2019.1705415). [ISSN](/source/ISSN_(identifier)) [0022-2933](https://search.worldcat.org/issn/0022-2933).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** ["The Flying Gurnard – Whats That Fish!"](http://www.whatsthatfish.com/fish/flying-gurnard/1693). *whatsthatfish.com*. Retrieved 15 June 2016.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-8)** Horvatić, S.; Vieira, M.; Amorim, M. C. P.; Malavasi, S.; Fonseca, P. J.; Stagličić, N.; Pavičić, M.; Zanella, D.; Erjavec, I.; Dragičević, B. (21 January 2026). ["Acoustic repertoire and anatomical features of the flying gurnard from the Adriatic Sea"](https://zslpublications.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jzo.70101). *Journal of Zoology*. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1111/jzo.70101](https://doi.org/10.1111%2Fjzo.70101). [ISSN](/source/ISSN_(identifier)) [0952-8369](https://search.worldcat.org/issn/0952-8369).

## External links

- Media related to [*Dactylopterus volitans*](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Dactylopterus_volitans) at Wikimedia Commons

- Data related to [*Dactylopterus volitans*](https://species.wikimedia.org/wiki/Dactylopterus_volitans) at Wikispecies

- Photos of [Flying gurnard](https://sealifecollection.org/taxon/127232) in the Sealife Collection

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Taxon identifiers Dactylopterus volitans Wikidata: Q1433392 Wikispecies: Dactylopterus volitans ADW: Dactylopterus_volitans BOLD: 86786 CoL: 33WF6 EUNIS: 124229 FishBase: 1021 GBIF: 2333605 iNaturalist: 55016 IRMNG: 10989209 ITIS: 167624 IUCN: 185182 NatureServe: 2.104186 NBN: NBNSYS0000181117 NCBI: 94924 Observation.org: 596952 OBIS: 127232 Open Tree of Life: 183857 Plazi: 6AD6C8A3-CB5F-87FF-C4FF-CBEFA4A45391 WoRMS: 127232

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Flying gurnard](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flying_gurnard) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flying_gurnard?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.