The Balao halfbeak (''Hemiramphus balao''), occasionally called the Balao for short, is an ocean-going

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

of fish in the

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

Hemiramphidae Hemiramphidae is a family of fishes that are commonly called halfbeaks, spipe fish or spipefish. They are a geographically widespread and numerically abundant family of epipelagic fish inhabiting warm waters around the world. The halfbeaks are ...

. It was first described by the French naturalist

Charles Alexandre Lesueur Charles Alexandre Lesueur (1 January 1778 in Le Havre – 12 December 1846 in Le Havre) was a French Natural history, naturalist, artist, and explorer. He was a prolific natural-history collector, gathering many type specimens in Australia, ...

in 1821. They are used as cut bait and for trolling purposes by saltwater sportsmen.McBride, Richard S., Lisa Foushee, and Behzad Mahmoudi. 1996. Florida's Halfbeak, "Hemiramphus" spp., Bait Fisher

''Marine Fisheries Review''. 58(1-2): 29-38.McBride, Richard S.. 2001. Landings, value, and fishing effort for halfbeaks, "Hemiramphus" spp., in the South Florida Lampara Net Fisher

''Proceedings of the 52nd Gulf Caribbean Fisheries Institute''. 52: 103-115.

Description

The Balao halfbeak is similar in appearance to its relative the

ballyhoo The ballyhoo halfbeak or ballyhoo (''Hemiramphus brasiliensis'') is a baitfish of the halfbeak family (Hemiramphidae). It is similar to the Balao halfbeak (''H. balao'') in most features. Ballyhoo are frequently used as cut bait and for trolli ...

(''H. brasiliensis''). The main difference between the two is that the distance from the

nare A nostril (or naris , plural ''nares'' ) is either of the two orifices of the nose. They enable the entry and exit of air and other gasses through the nasal cavities. In birds and mammals, they contain branched bones or cartilages called turb ...

s to the base of the

pectoral fin Fins are distinctive anatomical features composed of bony spines or rays protruding from the body of a fish. They are covered with skin and joined together either in a webbed fashion, as seen in most bony fish, or similar to a flipper, as ...

is ''greater'' than the length of the ballyhoo's pectoral fin, while that difference is ''less'' than the length of the Balao halfbeak's pectoral fin They have no

spine Spine or spinal may refer to: Science Biology * Vertebral column, also known as the backbone * Dendritic spine, a small membranous protrusion from a neuron's dendrite * Thorns, spines, and prickles, needle-like structures in plants * Spine (zoolog ...

s on

fin A fin is a thin component or appendage attached to a larger body or structure. Fins typically function as foils that produce lift or thrust, or provide the ability to steer or stabilize motion while traveling in water, air, or other fluids. Fin ...

s, but do have 11-15 rays of their

dorsal fin A dorsal fin is a fin located on the back of most marine and freshwater vertebrates within various taxa of the animal kingdom. Many species of animals possessing dorsal fins are not particularly closely related to each other, though through conv ...

s and 10-13 rays on their

anal fin Fins are distinctive anatomical features composed of bony spines or rays protruding from the body of a fish. They are covered with skin and joined together either in a webbed fashion, as seen in most bony fish, or similar to a flipper, as se ...

s. Balao halfbeak have blue-gray skin on their

back The human back, also called the dorsum, is the large posterior area of the human body, rising from the top of the buttocks to the back of the neck. It is the surface of the body opposite from the chest and the abdomen. The vertebral column run ...

s, while their undersides are silver or white. The longest recorded Balao halfbeak was 40 cm long.Collette, B.B. 1981 Hemiramphidae. In W. Fischer, G. Bianchi and W.B. Scott (eds.) FAO species identification sheets for fishery purposes. Eastern Central Atlantic (Fishing Areas 34, 47 (in part)). Volume 2. Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada and FAO. Rome.

Distribution and habitat

Balao halfbeak are found only in the Atlantic Ocean. In the west, they are known from New York south to Brazil, including much of the Gulf of MexicoRobins, C.R. and G.C. Ray 1986 A field guide to Atlantic coast fishes of North America. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, USA 354 p. and the Caribbean.Collette, B.B. 1978 Hemiramphidae. In W. Fischer (ed.) ''FAO species identification sheets for fishery purposes. Western Central Atlantic (Fishing Area 31)'', Volume 2. FAO, Rome. In the eastern Atlantic, they are known from the

Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; es, Canarias, ), also known informally as the Canaries, are a Spanish autonomous community and archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, in Macaronesia. At their closest point to the African mainland, they are west of Morocc ...

and the

Gulf of Guinea The Gulf of Guinea is the northeasternmost part of the tropical Atlantic Ocean from Cape Lopez in Gabon, north and west to Cape Palmas in Liberia. The intersection of the Equator and Prime Meridian (zero degrees latitude and longitude) is in the ...

from Victoria, Nigeria to

Luanda, Angola Luanda () is the capital and largest city in Angola. It is Angola's primary port, and its major industrial, cultural and urban centre. Located on Angola's northern Atlantic coast, Luanda is Angola's administrative centre, its chief seaport, ...

.Collette, B.B. and N.V. Parin 1990 Hemiramphidae. p. 579-582. In J.C. Quero, J.C. Hureau, C. Karrer, A. Post and L. Saldanha (eds.) ''Check-list of the fishes of the eastern tropical Atlantic" (CLOFETA)''. JNICT, Lisbon; SEI, Paris; and UNESCO, Paris. Vol. 2. Balao halfbeak have also been recorded from

Côte d'Ivoire Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire, officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital is Yamoussoukro, in the centre of the country, while its largest city and economic centre is ...

.Diouf, P.S. 1996 "Les peuplements de poissons des milieux estuariens de l'Afrique de l'Ouest: L'exemple de l'estuaire hyperhalin du Sine-Saloum". Université de Montpellier II. Thèses et Documents Microfiches No.156. ORSTOM, Paris. 267 p. Balao halfbeak can form fairly large

school A school is an educational institution designed to provide learning spaces and learning environments for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is sometimes compuls ...

s where they feed on smaller fishes and

zooplankton Zooplankton are the animal component of the planktonic community ("zoo" comes from the Greek word for ''animal''). Plankton are aquatic organisms that are unable to swim effectively against currents, and consequently drift or are carried along by ...

. They can be found in both

brackish Brackish water, sometimes termed brack water, is water occurring in a natural environment that has more salinity than freshwater, but not as much as seawater. It may result from mixing seawater (salt water) and fresh water together, as in estuari ...

and

marine Marine is an adjective meaning of or pertaining to the sea or ocean. Marine or marines may refer to: Ocean * Maritime (disambiguation) * Marine art * Marine biology * Marine debris * Marine habitats * Marine life * Marine pollution Military * ...

waters and are associated with

reefs A reef is a ridge or shoal of rock, coral or similar relatively stable material, lying beneath the surface of a natural body of water. Many reefs result from natural, abiotic processes— deposition of sand, wave erosion planing down rock out ...

.McBride, Richard S., and Justin R. Styer. 2002
Species Composition, Catch Rates, and Size Structure of Fishes Captured in the South Florida Lampara Net Fishery
''Marine Fisheries Review''. 64(1): 21-27.McBride, Richard S., Justin R. Styer, and Rob Hudson. 2003
Spawning cycles and habitats for ballyhoo (Hemiramphus brasiliensis) and balao (H. balao) in south Florida
''Fishery Bulletin'' 101:583–589. Although they are mainly used by humans as

baitfish 300px, Feeder Goldfish are common baitfish. Bait fish (or baitfish) are small-sized fish caught and used by anglers as bait to attract larger predatory fish, particularly game fish. Baitfish species are typically those that are common and bree ...

for

sailfish The sailfish is one or two species of marine fish in the genus ''Istiophorus'', which belong to the family Istiophoridae (marlins). They are predominantly blue to gray in colour and have a characteristically large dorsal fin known as the sa ...

and

marlin Marlins are fish from the family Istiophoridae, which includes about 10 species. A marlin has an elongated body, a spear-like snout or bill, and a long, rigid dorsal fin which extends forward to form a crest. Its common name is thought to deri ...

, they are also used as food in the

West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greater A ...

. Balao halfbeak are also preyed upon by the

brown noddy The brown noddy or common noddy (''Anous stolidus'') is a seabird in the family Laridae. The largest of the noddies, it can be told from the closely related black noddy by its larger size and plumage, which is dark brown rather than black. The b ...

and the

sooty tern The sooty tern (''Onychoprion fuscatus'') is a seabird in the family Laridae. It is a bird of the tropical oceans, returning to land only to breed on islands throughout the equatorial zone. Taxonomy The sooty tern was described by Carl Linnaeu ...

References

McBride, Richard S., and Paul E. Thurman. 2003. Reproductive Biology of Hemiramphus brasiliensis and H. balao (Hemiramphidae): Maturation, Spawning Frequency, and Fecundity. Biol. Bull. 204: 57–67

External links

Fishbase.org entryDiscoverlife.org entryEncyclopedia of Life entryITIS entry
{{DEFAULTSORT:Balao Halfbeak Hemiramphus, Balao halfbeak Fish of the Atlantic Ocean Taxa named by Charles Alexandre Lesueur Fish described in 1821