Teleostei (teleosts) >
Beloniformes (Needle fishes) >
Zenarchopteridae (Internally fertilized halfbeaks)
Etymology: Zenarchopterus: Particle zen, derived from zao = to give life + Greek, archos = anus + Greek, pteron = fin.
More on author: Valenciennes.
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Marine; freshwater; brackish; reef-associated; pH range: 7.0 - 8.0; dH range: 10 - ?; oceanodromous (Ref. 51243); depth range 0 - 3 m (Ref. 86942). Tropical; 24°C - 28°C (Ref. 12468)
Indo-Pacific: Kenya, Mozambique, Seychelles, Madagascar, New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Australia, New Caledonia, Fiji, and Samoa. Reported from Sri Lanka (Ref. 6028) and Vanuatu (Ref. 13300). Also found in India, Malaysia, Thailand and Singapore (Ref. 43081).
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ? range ? - ? cm
Max length : 19.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 7050)
Short description
Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics
Dorsal spines (total): 0; Dorsal soft rays (total): 11 - 12; Anal spines: 0; Anal soft rays: 12 - 13; Vertebrae: 42 - 43. Upper jaw distinctly wider than long. Snout uniform brown without any dark band on the midline. Pectoral fin shorter than head length. Lower jaw much shorter than head. Sixth and seventh anal rays of adult males greatly thickened and elongated, both rays reaching beyond the caudal base. Either dorsal ray 4 or 5 or both elongated and thickened.
Inhabit shallow water around mangrove in sheltered bays (Ref. 26367). Early juveniles are neustonic and float on the surface of estuarine mangroves (Ref. 43081).
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturities | Reproduction | Spawnings | Egg(s) | Fecundities | Larvae
Collette, B.B., 1986. Hemiramphidae. p. 163-164. In J. Daget, J.P. Gosse and D.F.E. Thys van den Audenaerde (eds.) Check-list of the freshwater fishes of Africa (CLOFFA). ISNB, Brussels; MRAC, Tervuren; and ORSTOM, Paris. Vol. 2. (Ref. 6798)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435)
Threat to humans
Harmless
Human uses
Fisheries: commercial
FAO -
