Flying fish
Exocoetus volitans
- Usual depth0–4,766 m
- Water temperature12–29 °C
- Best monthsFebruary, March, and November
- How commonOccasional
About this species
Exocoetus volitans, commonly known as the tropical two-wing flyingfish or blue flyingfish, is a species of ray-finned fish native to tropical and subtropical seas. It can glide above the surface of the sea to escape predators.
Text from the Wikipedia article “Exocoetus volitans”, 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: 42 records
- February: 70 records
- March: 63 records
- April: 22 records
- May: 12 records
- June: 22 records
- July: 24 records
- August: 28 records
- September: 36 records
- October: 17 records
- November: 47 records
- December: 15 records
Depth and water temperature
Depth
Mostly recorded at 0–4,766 m · Deepest record: 5,035 m
Water temperature
Recorded in surface water of 12–29 °C
Names and classification
- English
- Flying fish, Tropical two-wing flyingfish, Tropical two-wing flying-fish, Blue Flying Fish, Common Flying-fish, Cosmopolitan Flying-fish, Cosmopolitan Flyingfish, flying fish, Flyingfish, Linne's Flying Fish, Sharpfinned Flyingfish, Tropical Two-wing, tropical two-wing flying-fish, tropical two-wing flyingfish, Tropical two-wing flying fish, Tropical Two-wing Flyingfish, Tropical Two Wing Flyingfish, Two Winged Flying Fish, Two-wing Flyingfish
Names in 7 more languages
- German
- fliegender Fisch, Fliegender Fisch, Flugfisch
- Spanish
- Lisa Voladora, pez volador, Pez volador, Pez Volador Común, Volador, volador tropical
- Filipino
- Iliw, Lawin
- French
- exocet, Exocet commun, Exocet commun, Poisson volant, Exocet Volant, poisson volant, Poisson volant, Poisson volant commun
- Japanese
- Idaten-tobi-uo, Idatentobiuo, イダテントビウオ
- Korean
- 상날치
- Simplified Chinese
- 大頭飛魚, 飛烏
Other scientific names: Exocaetus commersonnii, Exocaetus volans, Exocaetus volitans, Exocetus volitans, Exocoetus commersonii, Exocoetus commersonnii, Exocoetus evolans, Exocoetus volans, Halocypselus evolans, Halocypselus mesogaster
Similar species
- Barbel flyingfish
Exocoetus monocirrhus
- Mirrorwing flyingfish
Hirundichthys speculiger
Abe's FlyingfishCheilopogon abei
Spotfin flyingfishCheilopogon furcatus
Largescale FlyingfishCypselurus oligolepis
Spotted Flying-fishCypselurus poecilopterus
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).
- 1,800 open-data records from 1758 to 2024.
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