Sailfin flyingfish
Parexocoetus brachypterus
- Usual depth3–4,023 m
- Water temperature13–30 °C
- Best monthsFebruary, April, and August
- How commonOccasional
About this species
The sailfin flying fish is a member of the flyingfish family Exocoetidae. As is typical of other members of its family, this species has the ability to jump out of the water and glide on hypertrophied fins in order to evade predators. It is considered a “two-winged” flying fish, meaning that it only has enlarged pectoral fins, as opposed to “four-winged” flying fish, which have both enlarged pectoral and pelvic fins.
Text from the Wikipedia article “Sailfin flying fish”, 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: 15 records
- February: 50 records
- March: 19 records
- April: 45 records
- May: 27 records
- June: 20 records
- July: 25 records
- August: 43 records
- September: 28 records
- October: 31 records
- November: 27 records
- December: 10 records
Depth and water temperature
Depth
Mostly recorded at 3–4,023 m · Deepest record: 5,121 m
Water temperature
Recorded in surface water of 13–30 °C
Names and classification
- English
- Sailfin flyingfish, Pacific Sailfin Flyingfish, sailfin flyingfish, Sailfin flying fish, Sailfin Flyingfish, Two-winged Flying-fish
Names in 4 more languages
- Spanish
- volador aletón, volador aletón dle Pacifico, volador velero
- French
- exocet voilier, Exocet voilier, Poisson volant
- Japanese
- Tsumaritobiuo, ツマリトビウオ
- Simplified Chinese
- 小烏, 白短鰭擬飛魚, 短鰭擬飛魚, 草螟仔, 飛烏
Other scientific names: Exocaetus brachypterus, Exocoetus atrodorsalis, Exocoetus brachypterus, Paraexocoetus brachypterus, Paraxocoetus brachypterus, Ptenonotus melanogeneion
Similar species
- African Flyingfish
Parexocoetus mento
- Barbel flyingfish
Exocoetus monocirrhus
- Flying fish
Exocoetus volitans
- Mirrorwing flyingfish
Hirundichthys speculiger
Abe's FlyingfishCheilopogon abei
Spotfin flyingfishCheilopogon furcatus
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).
- 821 open-data records from 1846 to 2023.
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