Family: BELONIDAE, Needlefishes, Houndfishes, Needlefish
no finlets after D & A
both jaws v long, with many sharp teeth
scales small
FAMILY BELONIDAE
NEEDLEFISHES, HOUNDFISHES
Needlefishes have very slender bodies; extremely elongate jaws form a long beak, with numerous needle-like teeth; fins without spines; 1 dorsal fin; dorsal and anal fins at rear of body, no isolated finlets after each fin; pelvics near the end of the abdomen, 6 rays; lateral line low on body; scales small, smooth; bones are greenish.
The family is distributed worldwide in tropical and temperate seas; there are 10 genera and 32 species; seven species in four genera occur in our region.
PREPARED BY D ROSS ROBERTSON, AFTER COLLETTE (2002)
