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Strongylura exilis (Girard, 1854)

Californian needlefish
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Strongylura exilis   AquaMaps   Data sources: GBIF OBIS
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Image of Strongylura exilis (Californian needlefish)
Strongylura exilis
Picture by Robertson, R.

Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes(genus, species) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa

Teleostei (teleosts) > Beloniformes (Needle fishes) > Belonidae (Needlefishes)
Etymology: Strongylura: Greek, strongylos = round + Greek, oura = tail (Ref. 45335).
More on author: Girard.

Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range Ecology

Marine; freshwater; brackish; pelagic-neritic; depth range 0 - 100 m (Ref. 96339). Subtropical; 33°N - 15°S, 118°W - 11°W (Ref. 56981)

Distribution Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Point map | Introductions | Faunafri

Eastern Pacific: San Francisco in California, USA to Peru, including the Galapagos Islands.

Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 91.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 2850); common length : 50.0 cm SL male/unsexed; (Ref. 9279)

Short description Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics

Dorsal spines (total): 0; Dorsal soft rays (total): 13 - 17; Anal spines: 0; Anal soft rays: 16 - 19; Vertebrae: 67 - 74. Caudal fin emarginate (Ref. 9279). Branchiostegal rays: 11-12 (Ref. 36575).

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

Common in coastal and lagoon areas with mangroves (Ref. 9279). Also found in bays and harbors (Ref. 36575). Penetrate fresh water (Ref. 9279). Adults occur in small schools. Feed mainly on small fishes (Ref. 9279). Oviparous, with neustonic larvae (Ref. 36575). Eggs are attached to vegetation and floating objects via long filaments (Ref. 36575). Usually caught with the help of artificial lights (Ref. 9279). Marketed fresh (Ref. 9279).

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae

Oviparous (Ref. 36575).

Main reference Upload your references | References | Coordinator : Collette, Bruce B. | Collaborators

Eschmeyer, W.N., E.S. Herald and H. Hammann, 1983. A field guide to Pacific coast fishes of North America. Boston (MA, USA): Houghton Mifflin Company. xii+336 p. (Ref. 2850)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2024-1)

  Least Concern (LC) ; Date assessed: 07 December 2018

CITES

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

  Harmless





Human uses

Fisheries: minor commercial
FAO - Publication: search | FishSource |

More information

Trophic ecology
Food items
Diet composition
Food consumption
Food rations
Predators
Ecology
Ecology
Population dynamics
Growth parameters
Max. ages / sizes
Length-weight rel.
Length-length rel.
Length-frequencies
Mass conversion
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Abundance
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Maturity
Maturity/Gills rel.
Fecundity
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Anatomy
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References

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Summary page | Point data | Common names | Photos

Internet sources

AFORO (otoliths) | Aquatic Commons | BHL | Cloffa | BOLDSystems | Websites from users | Check FishWatcher | CISTI | Catalog of Fishes: genus, species | DiscoverLife | ECOTOX | FAO - Publication: search | Faunafri | Fishipedia | Fishtrace | GenBank: genome, nucleotide | GloBI | Google Books | Google Scholar | Google | IGFA World Record | MitoFish | Otolith Atlas of Taiwan Fishes | PubMed | Reef Life Survey | Socotra Atlas | Tree of Life | Wikipedia: Go, Search | World Records Freshwater Fishing | Zoological Record

Estimates based on models

Preferred temperature (Ref. 123201): 17.7 - 28.9, mean 25.1 °C (based on 124 cells).
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82804):  PD50 = 0.5001   [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00132 (0.00057 - 0.00302), b=3.10 (2.92 - 3.28), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this Genus-body shape (Ref. 93245).
Trophic level (Ref. 69278):  4.5   ±0.80 se; based on food items.
Resilience (Ref. 120179):  Medium, minimum population doubling time 1.4 - 4.4 years (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref. 59153):  High vulnerability (56 of 100).
Price category (Ref. 80766):   High.
Nutrients (Ref. 124155):  Calcium = 86.8 [29.5, 278.3] mg/100g; Iron = 0.994 [0.485, 2.258] mg/100g; Protein = 17.7 [15.8, 19.7] %; Omega3 = 0.41 [0.18, 1.13] g/100g; Selenium = 26.2 [12.7, 52.8] μg/100g; VitaminA = 22 [7, 84] μg/100g; Zinc = 0.624 [0.422, 0.943] mg/100g (wet weight);