Teleostei (teleosts) >
Beloniformes (Needle fishes) >
Belonidae (Needlefishes)
Etymology: Tylosurus: Greek, tylos = callus + Greek, oura = tail (Ref. 45335).
More on author: Lacepède.
Issue
The 3 subspecies were upraised at species rank, as provisionally accepted names, , until more works are conducted on T. acus susbepcies to fix their status.
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Marine; reef-associated; depth range 0 - ? m. Subtropical; 43°N - , 98°W - 36°E
Western Atlantic: Massachusetts, USA to Brazil. Eastern Atlantic: off Morocco and the Mediterranean (Ref. 5505).
Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm 47.3, range 45 - 50 cm
Max length : 153 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 26340); common length : 90.0 cm SL male/unsexed; (Ref. 3129); max. published weight: 3.7 kg (Ref. 4699)
Dorsal spines (total): 0; Dorsal soft rays (total): 20 - 27; Anal spines: 0; Anal soft rays: 20 - 24; Vertebrae: 90 - 95. Diagnosis: body elongate; upper and lower jaws extremely long, forming a stout beak armed with very sharp teeth; gill rakers absent (Ref. 57228, 90102). Nostrils in depression before eyes (nasal pit); pelvic fins abdominal; 20-26 dorsal-fin rays; anal fin short, 9.7-11.7 times in body length; small, black lateral keel on either sides of caudal peduncle; caudal fin deeply forked (Ref. 57228).
Inhabits oceanic and neritic waters (Ref. 26340). Feeds 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). Although sold fresh and salted, its market is limited due to the green-colored flesh (Ref. 5217). Circumglobal in tropical seas and divisible into four subspecies (Ref 90102).
Robins, C.R. and G.C. Ray, 1986. A field guide to Atlantic coast fishes of North America. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, U.S.A. 354 p. (Ref. 7251)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2024-1)
Threat to humans
Traumatogenic (Ref. 26235)
Human uses
Fisheries: commercial; gamefish: yes
Tools
Special reports
Download XML
Internet sources
Estimates based on models
Preferred temperature (Ref.
123201): 20 - 28.5, mean 26.5 °C (based on 1282 cells).
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref.
82804): PD
50 = 0.5078 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00093 (0.00049 - 0.00176), b=3.11 (2.95 - 3.27), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this species & (Sub)family-body (Ref.
93245).
Trophic level (Ref.
69278): 4.5 ±0.6 se; based on diet studies.
Generation time: 2.5 ( na - na) years. Estimated as median ln(3)/K based on 1
growth studies.
Resilience (Ref.
120179): High, minimum population doubling time less than 15 months (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref.
59153): Moderate vulnerability (44 of 100).
Nutrients (Ref.
124155): Calcium = 33 [8, 135] mg/100g; Iron = 0.498 [0.212, 1.475] mg/100g; Protein = 17.2 [14.4, 20.3] %; Omega3 = 0.16 [0.06, 0.47] g/100g; Selenium = 16.9 [6.9, 46.1] μg/100g; VitaminA = 102 [14, 608] μg/100g; Zinc = 0.447 [0.259, 0.773] mg/100g (wet weight);
