Houndfish
Tylosurus crocodilus
- Usual depth1–15 m
- Water temperature19–30 °C
- Best monthsApril
- How commonOccasional
About this species
The houndfish, or more specifically the crocodile needlefish is a game fish of the family Belonidae, the needlefishes. It is the largest member of its family, growing up to 5 feet (1.5 m) in length and 10 pounds (4.5 kg) in weight.
Text from the Wikipedia article “Houndfish”, 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: 18 records
- February: 83 records
- March: 58 records
- April: 755 records
- May: 240 records
- June: 54 records
- July: 37 records
- August: 31 records
- September: 31 records
- October: 148 records
- November: 20 records
- December: 15 records
Depth and water temperature
Depth
Mostly recorded at 1–15 m · Deepest record: 457 m
Water temperature
Recorded in surface water of 19–30 °C
Names and classification
- English
- Houndfish, crocodile needlefish, houndfish, Hound needlefish
Names in 4 more languages
- Spanish
- agujón lisero
- French
- Aiguille crocodile, Orphie crocodile, Aiguille, Grosse aiguille, Orphie de terre
- Japanese
- オキザヨリ
- Simplified Chinese
- 鳄形圆颌针鱼
Other scientific names: Belona crocodila, Belone annulata, Belone coromandelica, Belone crassa, Belone crocodila, Belone crocodilus, Belone cylindrica, Belone gerania, Belone gigantea, Belone koseirensis, Belone melanochira, Belone melanurus, Belone raphidoma, Belone timucoides, Esox aaveri, Strongylura crocodila, Strongylura crocodilus, Strongylura gigantea, Strongylura raphidoma, Strongylurus annulatus, Strongylurus crocodila, Tylosurus annulatus, Tylosurus crocodiles, Tylosurus crocodilis, Tylosurus crocodilius, Tylosurus giganteus, Tylosurus gladius, Tylosurus raphidoma
Similar species
- Keel-jawed needle fish
Tylosurus melanotus
- Spongyjawed Needlefish
Tylosurus punctulatus
Flat needlefishAblennes hians
- blackspot longtom
Strongylura strongylura
- Driller's Long-tom
Strongylura incisa
- Banded needlefish
Strongylura leiurus
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).
- 2,869 open-data records from 1821 to 2024.
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