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: Valenciennes.
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.
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Marine; pelagic-neritic; depth range 0 - ? m. Tropical
Southeast Atlantic: known only from Ascension and St. Helena Islands.
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ? range ? - ? cm
Max length : 32.0 cm OT male/unsexed; (Ref. 4905)
Maximum length is body length. Found close to the surface in shallow water. Feeds mainly on small fishes. 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
Collette, B.B. and N.V. Parin, 1990. Belonidae. p. 592-597. In J.C. Quero, J.C. Hureau, C. Karrer, A. Post and L. Saldanha (eds.) Check-list of the fishes of the eastern tropical Atlantic (CLOFETA). JNICT, Lisbon; SEI, Paris; and UNESCO, Paris. Vol. 2. (Ref. 5757)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2024-1)
Threat to humans
Harmless
Human uses
Fisheries: subsistence fisheries
Tools
Special reports
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Internet sources
Estimates based on models
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref.
82804): PD
50 = No PD50 data [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00126 (0.00057 - 0.00279), b=3.11 (2.93 - 3.29), 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): Moderate vulnerability (37 of 100).
