Halfbeak

About this species

Hyporhamphus sajori, commonly known as the Japanese halfbeak, Japanese needlefish, or sayori, is a slender, surface-dwelling fish in the halfbeak family, native to coastal waters influenced by warm currents.

Text from the Wikipedia article “Hyporhamphus sajori”, 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: 1 records
February: 1 records
March: 2 records
April: 2 records
May: 6 records
June: 2 records
July: 11 records
August: 18 records
September: 12 records
October: 4 records
November: 2 records
December: 4 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 0–3 m · Deepest record: 4.1 m

0–10 m: 16 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of 9–22 °C

8–10 °C: 2 records
10–12 °C: 0 records
12–14 °C: 3 records
14–16 °C: 0 records
16–18 °C: 0 records
18–20 °C: 20 records
20–22 °C: 2 records
22–24 °C: 1 records

Photos

(c) Dmitrii Mostovoi, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Dmitrii Mostovoi, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) yajapin, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) 大澤風季 ohsawa_Fuki, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) yajapin, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist

Names and classification

English: Halfbeak, Halfbeak fish, Japanese halfbeak, Japanese needlefish

Names in 3 more languages

French: Demi-bec
Japanese: Sayori, サヨリ
Korean: 학공치

Other scientific names: Hemiramphus sajori

Similar species

Dussumier's halfbeak
Hyporhamphus dussumieri
Dusky Garfish
Hyporhamphus melanochir
Half-beak
Hyporhamphus quoyi
Atlantic silverstripe halfbeak
Hyporhamphus unifasciatus
Acute Halfbeak
Hyporhamphus acutus
Tropical halfbeak
Hyporhamphus affinis

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).
194 open-data records from 1923 to 2013.
Species data updated November 3, 2026.