Description

Dorsal spines (total): 0; Dorsal soft rays (total): 11; Anal spines: 0; Anal soft rays: 12. Black spot on dorsal fin; pectoral fin dark (Ref. 26938).

Common Names

Taxonomic Hierarchy

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Chordata

Class: Teleostei

Order: Beloniformes

Family: Exocoetidae

Genus: Cheilopogon

Species: Cheilopogon exsiliens (Linnaeus, 1771)

Climate Zone

Location

• Western Atlantic: Cape Cod, Massachusetts (USA), Bermuda and northern Gulf of Mexico to Brazil; rare or absent in the Caribbean Sea (Ref. 3720). Records from the Northeast Atlantic and Mediterranean need verification (Ref. 6523). Absent from the Caribbean (Ref. 26938).

Biology

Mainly found in the surface of oceanic waters, occasionally near the coast (Ref. 5217). Capable of leaping out of the water and gliding for long distances above the surface (Ref. 3720).

Habitat

oceanic

Conservation Status

Least Concern

Threat to Humans

Harmless