Shorefishes of the Greater Caribbean online information system

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Genus: Tylosurus, Houndfish Needlefish, Houndfishes, Needlefishes


All Families:   All Genera:   All Species:

body rounded
tail base with keel
C forked
pelvics large, forked

TYLOSURUS

NEEDLEFISHES, HOUNDFISHES

Body elongate, slender, cylindrical; extremely elongate jaws form a moderately long beak, with numerous needle-like teeth; no gill rakers; fins without spines; dorsal and anal fins with triangular front lobes; dorsal fin with 18-24 rays; tail base with large keel on each side; tail strongly forked, lower lobe larger; pelvic fins large, forked; juveniles with large dark rear lobe on dorsal fin.

A circumtropical genus with six species. Two Atlantic and Indo-Pacific subspecies of circumtropical species occur in the Greater Caribbean.