Teleostei (teleosts) >
Beloniformes (Needle fishes) >
Belonidae (Needlefishes)
Etymology: Platybelone: Greek, platys = flat + Greek, belone = needle; any fish with sharp pointed snout; also Pierre Belon, 1517-64, French zoologist born in Le Mans. Professor at the College de France, author of " La nature et diversité des poissons", 1551 (Ref. 45335).
More on author: Bennett.
Issue
Considered mostly as a subspecies in the literature. Therefore the upraise at species rank here is considered as a provisionally accepted name, until more works are conducted on P. argalus susbepcies to fix their status.
Considered mostly as a subspecies in the literature. Therefore the upraise at species rank here is considered as a provisionally accepted name, until more works are conducted on P. argalus susbepcies to fix their status.
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Marine; reef-associated; oceanodromous (Ref. 51243); depth range 0 - 2 m (Ref. 58302). Tropical; 27°N - 46°S, 51°E - 109°W
Indo-Pacific: East Africa to the Hawaiian and Tuamoto islands, north to the Ogasawara Islands. The subspecies platura from the Red Sea to Persian Gulf, platyura in the rest of the Indo-Pacific, and argalus in the tropical Atlantic (Ref. 37816).
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ? range ? - ? cm
Max length : 45.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 89467); common length : 30.0 cm SL male/unsexed; (Ref. 30573)
Inhabits offshore surface waters but is particularly abundant around islands (Ref. 9682). Probably the most common needlefish of reef flats, lagoons and bays where it occurs in groups of a few to several dozen. Carnivorous, feeding mainly on small fishes; marketed fresh (Ref. 9682). Oviparous (Ref. 205). Eggs may be found attached to objects in the water by tendrils on the egg's surface (Ref. 205).
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
Randall, J.E., G.R. Allen and R.C. Steene, 1990. Fishes of the Great Barrier Reef and Coral Sea. University of Hawaii Press, Honolulu, Hawaii. 506 p. (Ref. 2334)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2024-1)
Threat to humans
Harmless
Human uses
Fisheries: of no interest; gamefish: yes
Tools
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Internet sources
Estimates based on models
Preferred temperature (Ref.
123201): 26.3 - 29, mean 28 °C (based on 334 cells).
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref.
82804): PD
50 = No PD50 data [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00112 (0.00043 - 0.00289), b=3.05 (2.82 - 3.28), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this (Sub)family-body shape (Ref.
93245).
Trophic level (Ref.
69278): 4.2 ±0.73 se; based on food items.
Resilience (Ref.
120179): High, minimum population doubling time less than 15 months (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref.
59153): Low to moderate vulnerability (35 of 100).
Nutrients (Ref.
124155): Calcium = 94 [27, 374] mg/100g; Iron = 0.554 [0.248, 1.538] mg/100g; Protein = 17.3 [15.3, 19.3] %; Omega3 = 0.107 [0.043, 0.322] g/100g; Selenium = 18.1 [8.4, 48.4] μg/100g; VitaminA = 205 [57, 789] μg/100g; Zinc = 1.01 [0.59, 1.64] mg/100g (wet weight);
