WHATSTHATFISH
Bony fish

Buffon's River-garfish

Zenarchopterus buffonis

Also known as: Buffonis Halfbeak, Buffon's Garfish, Halfbeak Fish, Northern Garfish, Northern River Garfish, Stripe-nosed Halfbeak, Viviparous Halfbeak

LCLeast ConcernIUCN Red List, 2020
Adult
@JarJar · TH, Thailand · March 20171 / 2
01

Overview

Found in schools, on the surface levels, of coastal waters, in estuaries and rivers.
They feed on terrestrial insects from the water surface.

Needlefish hunt smaller fish just below the surface of the sea, but in turn the are also hunted by larger fish like Tuna and can sometimes be seen leaping into the air and seeming to skip along on their tails on the surface of the water to escape predators.
Potentially dangerous at night when attracted to light as they leap out of the water and have been known to cause fatalities with their beaks!

02

How to identify

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03

Habitat & where to find it

  • Range · Indo-West Pacific
  • Country only · 2
LIVES IN

Found in schools, on the surface levels, of coastal waters, in estuaries and rivers.

04

Adult photos 2

05

Discussion

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    ALL STAGES
    FOR THE MARINE-BIOLOGY CURIOUS

    Deep dive

    Taxonomy

    1. kingdomAnimalia
    2. phylumChordata
    3. classTeleostei
    4. orderBeloniformes
    5. familyZenarchopteridae
    6. genusZenarchopterus
    7. speciesZenarchopterus buffonis (Valenciennes, 1847)

    SourcesWoRMSFishBase

    06

    More in the family

    Beloniformes