Exocoetus volitans  Linnaeus, 1758

Tropical two-wing flyingfish
Add your observation in Fish Watcher
| Native range | All suitable habitat | PointMap | Year 2050 |
This map was computer-generated and has not yet been reviewed.
Exocoetus volitans   AquaMaps   Data sources: GBIF OBIS
Upload your photos and videos
 Pictures | Google image
Image of Exocoetus volitans (Tropical two-wing flyingfish)
Exocoetus volitans
Picture by Jessen, C.Q.

Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes (gen., sp.) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa

Actinopterygii (ray-finned fishes) > Beloniformes (Needle fishes) > Exocoetidae (Flyingfishes)
Etymology: Exocoetus: Greek, exos = outside + Greek, koite = hole (Ref. 45335).   More on author: Linnaeus.

Environment / Climate / Range Ecology

Marine; pelagic-neritic; oceanodromous (Ref. 51243); depth range 0 - 20 m.   Subtropical

Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 30.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 9987); common length : 20.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 5217)

Short description Morphology | Morphometrics

Dorsal spines (total): 0; Dorsal soft rays (total): 12-15; Anal spines: 0; Anal soft rays: 12 - 14; Vertebrae: 43 - 46. Body dark, iridescent blue above, silvery white below; pectorals and caudal fin greyish, other fins not pigmented (Ref. 2797). Juveniles with or without black bars (Ref. 2797). Branchiostegal rays: 9-11 (Ref. 36606).

Distribution Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Introductions | Faunafri

Widespread in tropical and subtropical zones of all oceans including the western Mediterranean Sea and part of the Caribbean Sea (Ref. 3720), probably absent in the inland seas of southeastern Asia (Sulawesi Sea, Sulu Sea, Flores, Banda, Ceram and Halmahera seas (Ref. 27313)), and the Benguela Current (Ref. 4498). Eastern Pacific: Mexico to central Chile; also the Galapagos and Hawaii. Western Pacific: Japan, Marshall Islands, Philippines, Australia (Ref. 5530), and Tahiti.

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

Adults occur in surface waters, both near and far from the coast (Ref. 5217). Form schools. Capable of leaping out of the water and gliding for long distances above the surface. Feed mostly on crustaceans and other planktonic animals. Preyed upon by swordfish, tunas and many other larger pelagic fishes (Ref. 9987). Oviparous, with planktonic eggs and larvae (Ref. 36606).

Main reference Upload your references | References | Coordinator : Parin, Nikolay V. | Collaborators

Parin, N.V., 1996. On the species composition of flying fishes (Exocoetidae) in the West-Central part of tropical Pacific. J. Ichthyol. 36(5):357-364.

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 90363)

  Not Evaluated 

Threat to humans

  Harmless




Human uses

Fisheries: commercial
FAO(Publication : search) | FisheriesWiki | Sea Around Us

More information

Countries
FAO areas
Ecosystems
Occurrences
Introductions
Stocks
Ecology
Diet
Food items
Food consumption
Ration
Common names
Synonyms
Metabolism
Predators
Ecotoxicology
Reproduction
Maturity
Spawning
Fecundity
Eggs
Egg development
Age/Size
Growth
Length-weight
Length-length
Length-frequencies
Morphometrics
Morphology
Larvae
Larval dynamics
Recruitment
Abundance
References
Aquaculture
Aquaculture profile
Strains
Genetics
Allele frequencies
Heritability
Diseases
Processing
Mass conversion
Collaborators
Pictures
Stamps, Coins
Sounds
Ciguatera
Speed
Swim. type
Gill area
Otoliths
Brains
Vision

Tools

E-book | Field guide | Identification keys | Length-frequency wizard | Life-history tool | Point map | Classification Tree | Catch-MSY |

Special reports

Check for Aquarium maintenance | Check for Species Fact Sheets | Check for Aquaculture Fact Sheets

Download XML

Summary page | Point data | Common names | Photos

Internet sources

BHL | Cloffa | BOLDSystems | Websites from users | Check FishWatcher | CISTI | Catalog of Fishes (gen., sp.) | DiscoverLife | Faunafri | Fishtrace | GenBank(genome, nucleotide) | GOBASE | Google Books | Google Scholar | Google | IGFA World Record | iSpecies | National databases | PubMed | Scirus | SeaLifeBase | Tree of Life | uBio | Wikipedia(Go, Search) | World Records Freshwater Fishing | Zoobank | Zoological Record

Estimates of some properties based on empirical models

Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82805):  PD50 = 0.5312   [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00389 (-0.16711 - 0.17489), b=3.12 (3.03 - 3.21), based on all LWR estimates for this BS (Ref. 93245).
Trophic Level (Ref. 69278):  3.0   ±0.09 se; Based on food items.
Resilience (Ref. 69278):  High, minimum population doubling time less than 15 months (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
Vulnerability (Ref. 59153):  Low vulnerability (17 of 100) .
Price category (Ref. 80766):   Medium.