Exocoetoidea is a

superfamily SUPERFAMILY is a database and search platform of structural and functional annotation for all proteins and genomes. It classifies amino acid sequences into known structural domains, especially into SCOP superfamilies. Domains are functional, str ...

of fishes that comprises three families, the

flying fishes The Exocoetidae are a family of marine fish in the order Beloniformes class Actinopterygii, known colloquially as flying fish or flying cod. About 64 species are grouped in seven to nine genera. While they cannot fly in the same way a bird d ...

, the

halfbeak 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 a ...

s and the viviparous halfbeaks. They are found in tropical and subtropical waters around the world. Exocoetoidea is part of the

suborder Order ( la, ordo) is one of the eight major hierarchical taxonomic ranks in Linnaean taxonomy. It is classified between family and class. In biological classification, the order is a taxonomic rank used in the classification of organisms and ...

Exocoetoidei of the

order Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood * Heterarchy, a system of organization wherein the elements have the potential to be ranked a number of d ...

Beloniformes.

Characteristics

The fishes have large scales, with normally 38–60 scales along the

lateral line The lateral line, also called the lateral line organ (LLO), is a system of sensory organs found in fish, used to detect movement, vibration, and pressure gradients in the surrounding water. The sensory ability is achieved via modified epithelial ...

. They have a small mouth and some have an elongated lower jaw (but not an elongated upper jaw). They do not have the isolated finlets between the dorsal fin and

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 ...

and the caudal fin. The dorsal and anal fins typically have 8–18 rays each but there are as many as 25 in '' Euleptorhamphus''. The third pair of upper pharyngeal bones are united, but not fused, to form a palate.

Families

The three families included in this superfamily are: * Family Exocoetidae Risso, 1827 (flying fishes) * Family

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 ...

Gill, 1859 (halfbeaks) * Family Zenarchopteridae Fowler, 1934 (viviparous halfbeaks)

References

{{Taxonbar, from = Q21226926 Beloniformes Animal superfamilies