Houndfish

{{Short description|Species of fish}} {{Speciesbox | image = Tylosurus crocodilus.jpg | image_caption = ''Illustration from ''The Bahama Islands'' by The Geographical Society of Baltimore 1905. '' | image2 = Tylosurus crocodilus crocodilus Réunion.jpg | image2_caption = ''T. c. crocodilus'' near Réunion | status = LC | status_system = IUCN3.1 | status_ref = <ref name="iucn status 20 November 2021">{{cite iucn |author=Collette, B.B. |author2=Acero, A. |author3=Polanco Fernandez, A. |author4=Aiken, K.A. |date=2015 |title=''Tylosurus crocodilus'' |volume=2015 |article-number=e.T183274A15602960 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2015-4.RLTS.T183274A15602960.en |access-date=20 November 2021}}</ref> | taxon = Tylosurus crocodilus | authority = (Péron & Lesueur, 1821) | synonyms = {{Collapsible list|''Belone crocodilus'' Péron & Lesueur, 1821 |''Strongylura crocodila'' (Péron & Lesueur, 1821) |''Strongylura crocodilus'' (Péron & Lesueur, 1821) |''Belone coromandelica'' van Hasselt, 1823 |''Belone timucoides'' van Hasselt, 1824 |''Belone raphidoma'' Ranzani, 1842 |''Strongylura raphidoma'' (Ranzani, 1842) |''Tylosurus raphidoma'' (Ranzani, 1842) |''Belone gigantea'' Temminck & Schlegel, 1846 |''Strongylura gigantea'' (Temminck & Schlegel, 1846) |''Tylosurus giganteus'' (Temminck & Schlegel, 1846) |''Belone annulata'' Valenciennes, 1846 |''Tylosurus annulatus'' (Valenciennes, 1846) |''Belone gerania'' Valenciennes, 1846 |''Belone melanurus'' Bleeker, 1849 |''Belone cylindrica'' Bleeker, 1850 |''Belone crassa'' Poey, 1860 |''Belone melanochira'' Poey, 1860 |''Belone koseirensis'' Klunzinger, 1871 |''Tylosurus gladius'' Bean, 1882 |''Esox aaveri'' Curtiss, 1938 }} | synonyms_ref = <ref name = Fishbase/> }} The '''houndfish''', or more specifically the '''crocodile needlefish''' ('''''Tylosurus crocodilus''''') is a game fish of the family Belonidae, the needlefishes. It is the largest member of its family, growing up to {{convert|5|ft|m}} in length and {{convert|10|lb|kg}} in weight.

==Taxonomy== The houndfish was described as ''Belona crocodila'' by François Péron and Charles Alexandre Lesueur in 1821 with the type locality given as Mauritius.<ref name = CofF>{{Cof record|spid=13525|title=''Belona crocodila''|access-date=3 August 2019}}</ref>

Two subspecies of the houndfish were recognised:<ref name = Collette>{{cite book | author = Bruce Baden Collette | year = 2003 | title = Family Belonidae Bonaparte 1832 needlefishes | work = Annotated Checklist of Fishes | volume = 16 | publisher = California Academy of Sciences | issn = 1545-150X| author-link = Bruce Baden Collette }}</ref>

*''Tylosurus crocodilus crocodilus'' (Péron & Lesueur 1821) *''Tylosurus crocodilus fodiator'' Jordan & Gilbert 1882

However, Fishbase now recognises ''T.c. fodiator'' as a valid species, ''Tylosurus fodiator'', the Mexican needlefish.<ref name = FishBaseG>{{FishBase genus|genus=Tylosurus|month=April|year=2019}}</ref>

==Description== A key way of distinguishing the houndfish from other members of the genus ''Tylosurus'' is that the houndfish's teeth point anteriorly when the fish is a juvenile. The teeth of other species are straight at all ages.<ref name = collette>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> The houndfish also has a more stout, cylindrical body and a shorter head than other needlefishes.<ref name = "Fishbase" /> Juvenile houndfish possess an elevated, black lobe on the posterior of their dorsal fins.<ref name = "Fishbase" />

While the houndfish has no fin spines, its dorsal fin has 21–25 soft rays, and its anal fin has 19–22.<ref name = "Fishbase">{{FishBase|genus=Tylosurus|species=crocodilus|year=2009|month=03}}</ref> They are also known to have 80–86 vertebrae.<ref name = "Fishbase" /> They have dark blue backs and silver-white sides and are plain white ventrally.<ref name = collette2>Collette, B.B. 1986 Belonidae p. 385–387. In M.M. Smith and P.C. Heemstra (eds.) Smiths' sea fishes. Springer-Verlag, Berlin.</ref> A houndfish has a distinct keel on the caudal peduncle, and the caudal fin itself is deeply forked.<ref name = "Fishbase" />

The longest recorded houndfish was {{convert|150|cm|ft}},<ref name = sommer>Sommer, C., W. Schneider and J.-M. Poutiers 1996 FAO species identification field guide for fishery purposes. The living marine resources of Somalia. FAO, Rome. 376 p.</ref> and the largest recorded weight was {{convert|6.35|kg|lb}}.<ref name = IFGA>IGFA 2001 Database of IGFA angling records until 2001. IGFA, Fort Lauderdale, USA.</ref>

==Distribution and habitat== [[File:NIEdot343.jpg|thumb|left|Houndfish (top) illustrated with several other known fishes of the Philippines]] Houndfish are found throughout the Indian and Pacific Oceans, their range stretching from the Red Sea and the coast of South Africa,<ref name = collette2 /> east to French Polynesia,<ref name = randall>Randall, J. E. and Y. H. Sinoto 1978 Rapan fish names. B. P. Bishop Mus. Occas. Pap. 24(15:294-306.</ref> towards Japan,<ref name = masuda>Masuda, H., K. Amaoka, C. Araga, T. Uyeno and T. Yoshino 1984 The fishes of the Japanese Archipelago. Vol. 1. Tokai University Press, Tokyo, Japan. 437 p. (text)</ref> and south to New South Wales, Australia.<ref name = fricke>Fricke, R. 1999 Fishes of the Mascarene Islands (Réunion, Mauritius, Rodriguez): an annotated checklist, with descriptions of new species. Koeltz Scientific Books, Koenigstein, Theses Zoologicae, Vol. 31: 759 p.</ref> The houndfish is replaced by its congener the Mexican needlefish in the eastern Pacific.<ref name = "Fishbase" /> Houndfish are known from New Jersey to Brazil in the west Atlantic,<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> and in the east, they are found from Fernando Poo, Cameroon, and Liberia to Ascension Island.<ref name = collette3>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> Houndfish can also be found near Guinea, Senegal<ref name = diouf>Diouf, P.S. 1996 Les peuplements de poissons des milieux estuariens de l'Afrique de l'Ouest: L'exemple de l'estuaire hyperhalin du Sine-Saloum. Université de Montpellier II. Thèses et Documents Microfiches No.156. ORSTOM, Paris. 267 p.</ref> and Cape Verde.<ref name = reiner>Reiner, F. 1996 Catálogo dos peixes do Arquipélago de Cabo Verde. Publicações avulsas do IPIMAR No. 2. 339 p.</ref> It has been recorded in the eastern Mediterranean Sea, having moved from the Red Sea via the Suez Canal as part of the Lessepsian migration.<ref name = Zorica>{{cite journal | author1 = Barbara Zorica | author2 = Vanja Čikeš Keč | author3 = Armin Palloro | author4 = Kristijan Zanki | author5 = Goran Brzulja | author6 = Viktor Kraljević | display-authors = 3 | year = 2016 | title = First record of agujon needlefish, ''Tylosurus acus imperialis'' (Rafinesque, 1810) (Osteichthyes: Belonidae) in the Croatian part of the Adriatic Sea | url = https://hrcak.srce.hr/file/239285 | journal = Acta Adriatica | volume = 57 | issue = 1 | pages = 183–186}}</ref>

A pelagic animal,<ref name = claro>Claro, R. 1994 Características generales de la ictiofauna. pp. 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> houndfish can be found over lagoons and seaward reefs either as individuals or small groups,<ref name = "Fishbase" /> where they feed mainly on smaller fishes.<ref name = thollot>Thollot, P. 1996 Les poissons de mangrove du lagon sud-ouest de Nouvelle-Calédonie. ORSTOM Éditions, Paris.</ref> Houndfish lay eggs which attach themselves to objects in the water via tendrils 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>

==Relationship to humans== thumb|A houndfish caught via use of artificial lights at night Houndfish are considered to be gamefish, and can be caught by use of artificial lights in a similar manner to other needlefishes. Although houndfish are considered good to eat and usually sold fresh, the market for them is small because their flesh has a greenish colour similar to that of the flat needlefish.<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 SAmérica. FAO, Rome. p. 513. Preparado con el financiamento de la Comisión de Comunidades Europeas y de NORAD.</ref> The IGFA world record stands at 4.88 kg (10 lbs 12 oz) and was caught off Goulding Cay, Bahamas in 2013 by angler Daniel John Leonard using a live pilchard as bait.<ref>{{cite web |title=IGFA WORLD RECORD |url=http://wrec.igfa.org/WRecDetail.aspx?uid=38573&cn=Houndfish#.XBguzbaZMcg |website=igfa.org |publisher=International Game Fish Association |access-date=17 December 2018}}</ref>

Houndfish are considered to be dangerous, and are feared by fishermen because of their size and tendency to leap out of the water, causing puncture wounds with their beaks, when frightened or attracted to the lights used to catch them.<ref name = "Fishbase" /> In April 2000, a woman snorkeling in the Florida Keys was severely injured when she was stabbed in the neck by a houndfish that leapt out of the water.<ref name = injury2000>{{cite web |url= http://www.sptimes.com/News/041900/State/Leaping_houndfish_sta.shtml |title= Leaping houndfish stabs teen in neck |last1= Danielson |first1= Richard |date=19 April 2000 |website= sptimes.com |publisher= |access-date=27 December 2014}}</ref> In October, 2010 an ocean-kayaker was injured when she was struck in the back (and was treated for a collapsed lung) by the beak of a houndfish that jumped out of the water near her boat.<ref name = injury>{{cite web |url= http://www.newser.com/story/103282/beware-houndfish-they-stab-people.html |title= Beware Houndfish: They Stab People |last1= McMaster |first1= Nick |date=19 Oct 2010 |website= Newser.com |publisher= |access-date=16 January 2014}}</ref>

The danger posed by houndfish is similar to swordfish.

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

==External links== {{commons category|Tylosurus crocodilus}} *[http://www.discoverlife.org/mp/20o?search=Tylosurus+crocodilus Discoverlife.org] *[https://web.archive.org/web/20120607003433/http://zipcodezoo.com/Animals/T/Tylosurus_crocodilus/ zipcodezoo] *[https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=165577 ITIS] *[http://www.fishbase.org/Summary/SpeciesSummary.php?id=977 Fishbase on T. c. crocodilus] *[http://www.fishbase.org/Summary/SpeciesSummary.php?id=13570 Fisbase on T. c. fodiator] *[http://www.whatsthatfish.com/fish/crocodile-needlefish/956 WhatsThatFish.com] *[https://archive.today/20130104010926/http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/39726687 Leaping fish spears kayaker off Florida Keys: 10/18/10]

Category:Tylosurus Category:Pantropical fish Category:Taxa named by François Péron Category:Taxa named by Charles Alexandre Lesueur Category:Fish described in 1821