Teleostei (teleosts) >
Beloniformes (Needle fishes) >
Exocoetidae (Flyingfishes)
Etymology: Cheilopogon: Greek, cheilos = lip + Greek, pogon = barbed, beard (Ref. 45335).
Issue
Probably more than one species.
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Marine; pelagic-oceanic; oceanodromous (Ref. 51243); depth range 0 - ? m. Tropical; 40°N - 30°S
Indo-West Pacific: in tropical waters, south to the Mascarenes, Aldabra, and Natal, South Africa (Ref. 33390) and east to Japan, the Caroline and Solomon islands. Western Atlantic: 40°N to off Rio de Janeiro in Brazil. Eastern Atlantic: Gulf of Guinea and adjacent waters.
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 28.0 cm SL male/unsexed; (Ref. 3613)
Dorsal spines (total): 0; Dorsal soft rays (total): 13 - 15; Anal spines: 0; Anal soft rays: 8 - 11. Body dark iridescent blue above, silvery white below; pectorals black with pale margin, central portion crossed by a yellowish stripe becoming narrower toward anterior fin margin; pelvic fins with prominent black spot (Ref. 6797). Body of juveniles with dark bars (Ref. 6797).
Inhabits surface waters of the open ocean, capable of leaping out of the water and gliding for long distances above the surface (Ref. 3395). Planktivore (Ref. 97629).
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
Parin, N.V. and R.H. Gibbs Jr., 1990. Exocoetidae. p. 583-591. 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. 4498)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2024-1)
Threat to humans
Harmless
Human uses
Fisheries: minor commercial
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Estimates based on models
Preferred temperature (Ref.
123201): 24.8 - 29.1, mean 28 °C (based on 1460 cells).
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref.
82804): PD
50 = 0.5000 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00631 (0.00288 - 0.01384), b=3.05 (2.85 - 3.25), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this (Sub)family-body shape (Ref.
93245).
Trophic level (Ref.
69278): 3.0 ±0.08 se; based on food items.
Generation time: 0.6 ( na - na) years. Estimated as median ln(3)/K based on 2
growth studies.
Resilience (Ref.
120179): High, minimum population doubling time less than 15 months (K>1).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref.
59153): Low vulnerability (16 of 100).