Genus: Hemiramphus, Halfbeaks
snout no scales
no crest before eye
no crest before eye
C very forked, lower lobe longer
A 10-13
HEMIRAMPHUS
HALFBEAKS
Elongate and slender; no teeth; lower jaw extended into a long beak; upper jaw short, triangular, scaleless; nostrils in a pit before eye; no ridge just before eye; no spines in fins; dorsal and anal fins are at the rear of the body, with bases about opposite one another; pelvic fins are under the rear of the abdomen; pectoral fins high on the sides; tail fin deeply forked, lower lobe much longer; anal fin 10-13 rays; lateral line low on side of body; scales large and smooth.
This circumtropical genus has at least 10 species. One trans-Atlantic, one West Atlantic and one endemic occur in the Greater Caribbean.
