Jumping Halfbeak
Arrhamphus sclerolepis
- Usual depth0–2 m
- Water temperature20–29 °C
- Best monthsMay, June, and December
- How commonOccasional
About this species
Arrhamphus sclerolepis, the Northern snub-nosed garfish, is a species of halfbeak in the genus Arrhamphus found in coastal waters of the Indo-West Pacific around Papua New Guinea and Australia, and in the freshwaters of adjacent river systems. Considered a good game fish, but of little commercial value either as food or as an aquarium fish. This species is known to anglers in Australia as the snub-nosed gar. The species is distinguished from most other halfbeaks by the lower jaw being only slightly longer than the upper jaw. In coastal wetlands this species feeds mainly on sea grass, with some crustaceans, but in urban waterways it feeds on algae at night and on ants during the day.
Text from the Wikipedia article “Arrhamphus sclerolepis”, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article
Where and when
Where it has been recorded
Worldwide
Loading the map
Best months
Worldwide (open data)
- January: 4 records
- February: 5 records
- March: 7 records
- April: 7 records
- May: 15 records
- June: 17 records
- July: 11 records
- August: 11 records
- September: 10 records
- October: 6 records
- November: 10 records
- December: 12 records
Depth and water temperature
Depth
Mostly recorded at 0–2 m · Deepest record: 2.5 m
Water temperature
Recorded in surface water of 20–29 °C
Names and classification
- English
- Jumping Halfbeak, No-bill Garfish, No Bill Garfish, Northern Snub-nosed Garfish, shortbeaked garfish, Short-beaked Garfish, Short-bill, Short Bill Garfish, Snubbie, Snub-nosed Garfish, Snubnose Garfish, South-east Snub-nosed Garfish
Similar species
- Black-barred halfbeak
Hemiramphus far
- Dussumier's halfbeak
Hyporhamphus dussumieri
- Half-beak
Hyporhamphus quoyi
- Atlantic silverstripe halfbeak
Hyporhamphus unifasciatus
- Smallwing flyingfish
Oxyporhamphus micropterus
- Ribbon halfbeak
Euleptorhamphus viridis
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).
- 478 open-data records from 1905 to 2012.
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