| Phylum Chordata
> Subphylum Vertebrate > fishes |
Needlefishes
Family Belonidae
updated
Jun 08
Where
seen?
These long stick-like fishes with pointed jaws are sometimes seen
at low tide on some of our reef flats, especially at night. During
the day, larger ones are sometimes seen at jetties.
What are needlefishes? Needlefishes
belong to the Family Belonidae. According to FishBase:
the family has 10 genera and 34 species. Besides marine species, some
species are found in freshwater.
Features: 50cm-1m long or more,
these fishes have a long silvery body. In some, the cross-section
of the body is circular, in others rectangular. They have long, narrow
pointed jaws that are beak- or needle-like, thus their common name.
'Belone' means 'needle' in Greek. These slender jaws are usually filled
with sharp needle-like teeth. The jaws are shorter in juveniles, elongating
as they age. Has one single dorsal fin.
Like other fishes that live near the water surface, they are usually
darker coloured from above, and silvery from below. Thus they are
camouflaged from predators both above and below the water. They usually
have a dark blue stripe along the body length, and the tip of the
lower jaw may be red or orange.
These fishes tend to skitter or make shallow leaps out at the water
surface. They appear to be attracted to lights at night and there
are stories of these fishes leaping into fishermen's boats at night.
Occasionally, there are reports of people accidentally being killed
by the spear-like jaws of these leaping fishes.
Sometimes mistaken for halfbeaks.
Halfbeaks are generally shorter and only their lower jaw is elongated
while the upper jaw is very short. In needlefishes, both the upper
and lower jaws are of equal length. Here's more on how
to tell apart stick-like fishes commonly seen on our shores.
What do they eat? These surface-dwelling
fishes hunt small surface-dwelling fishes, catching these with a sideway
movement of their jaws. They in turn are hunted by larger fishes including
dolphins.
Baby needlefishes: Their eggs
have entangling tendrils so the eggs cling to one another or to objects
in the water.
Human uses: In some places, they
are caught for eating. Although the flesh is said to taste good, the
fishes have many small bones which are green and thus appear rather
unappetising.
Status and threats: Our needlefishes
are not listed as among the threatened animals of Singapore. However,
like other creatures of the intertidal zone, they are affected by
human activities such as overfishing, reclamation and pollution.
|
|
Needlefishes
on Singapore shores

Kusu Island, Aug 08
|
|
|

Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve, Jan 04
|
|
|

Chek Jawa, Nov 09
|
|
|
|
|

Tanah Merah, Jul 11
|
|

Pulau Tekukor, May 10
|
|
Family
Belonidae recorded for Singapore
from
Wee Y.C. and Peter K. L. Ng. 1994. A First Look at Biodiversity
in Singapore.
*from Lim, Kelvin and Jeffrey K Y Low, Guide to Common Marine Fishes
of Singapore
| |
Belone
platyura
Strongylura strongylura (Spot-tail needlefish)
*Strongylura leiura (Banded or Slender needlefish)
Tylosurus annulatus
Tylosurus crocodilus
Tylosurus insicus
Tylosurus leiurus
Tylosorus melanotus
Tylosorus strongylurus |
|
|
|