Flat needlefish

Ablennes hians

Fish
IUCN: Least concern

Usual depth0–1,449 m
Water temperature11–29 °C
Best monthsApril
How commonOccasional

Photo credit: (c) Navaneeth Sini George, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist

About this species

The flat needlefish, or barred longtom, the only known member of the genus Ablennes, is a marine fish of the family Belonidae. Flat needlefish are considered gamefish, frequently caught with the help of artificial lights, but are not often eaten because of their green-colored flesh.

Text from the Wikipedia article “Flat needlefish”, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article

Where and when

Where it has been recorded

Worldwide

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Best months

Worldwide (open data)

January: 31 records
February: 26 records
March: 23 records
April: 94 records
May: 21 records
June: 32 records
July: 22 records
August: 28 records
September: 24 records
October: 30 records
November: 26 records
December: 20 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 0–1,449 m · Deepest record: 4,023 m

0–10 m: 15 records
10–20 m: 10 records
20–30 m: 15 records
30–40 m: 3 records
40–50 m: 4 records
50–60 m: 3 records
60–70 m: 4 records
70–80 m: 0 records
80–90 m: 1 records
90–100 m: 0 records
100–110 m: 0 records
110+ m: 14 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of 11–29 °C

10–12 °C: 1 records
12–14 °C: 0 records
14–16 °C: 3 records
16–18 °C: 3 records
18–20 °C: 2 records
20–22 °C: 26 records
22–24 °C: 17 records
24–26 °C: 60 records
26–28 °C: 197 records
28–30 °C: 276 records

Photos

(c) Ashwit Shetty, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Сергей Крыленко, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Ro Hill, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Ashwin Viswanathan, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
no rights reserved · CC0 1.0 · iNaturalist
(c) Eamon Corbett, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Leonel Roget, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist

Names and classification

English: Flat needlefish, Barred Long-tom, Barred Longtom, Barred Needle Fish, flat needlefish, Gar fish

Names in 6 more languages

Spanish: agujón sable, sauro atlántico
French: Orphie coutelas, Orphie plate
Japanese: Hamadatsu, ハマダツ
Korean: 물동갈치
Thai: ปลากระทุงเหวบั้ง, ปลาเต็กเล้ง
Simplified Chinese: 倒吊學, 學仔, 扁鶴鱵, 橫帶扁頜針魚, 白天青旗, 青旗, 青痣

Other scientific names: Ablenes hians, Ablennes pacificus, Athlennes hians, Belone hians, Belone maculata, Belone melanostigma, Belone schismatorhynchus, Blennes hians, Mastaccembelus melanostigma, Mastacembelus fasciatus, Tylosurus caeruleofasciatus, Tylosurus hians, Tylosurus schismatorhynchus

Similar species

blackspot longtom
Strongylura strongylura
Houndfish
Tylosurus crocodilus
Driller's Long-tom
Strongylura incisa
Banded needlefish
Strongylura leiurus
Strongylura urvillii
Keel-jawed needle fish
Tylosurus melanotus

Sources and credits

Names and taxonomy: WoRMS (CC BY 4.0) and the GBIF Backbone (CC BY 4.0). Photos: iNaturalist observers, each under the licence shown (CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA).

Depth, temperature, months and maps: records from OBIS and GBIF under CC0 or CC BY.
Descriptions: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA, each linked to its article.
Conservation status as published by GBIF (IUCN Red List).
1,103 open-data records from 1846 to 2024.
Species data updated October 26, 2026.

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