''Hemiramphus'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...

of schooling

marine fish Saltwater fish, also called marine fish or sea fish, are fish that live in seawater. Saltwater fish can swim and live alone or in a large group called a school. Saltwater fish are very commonly kept in aquariums for entertainment. Many saltwater f ...

commonly called halfbeaks, garfish, or ballyhoos, and are members of the

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

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 ...

. They inhabit the surface of warm temperate and

tropical The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the Equator. They are defined in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the Northern Hemisphere at N and the Tropic of Capricorn in the Southern Hemisphere at S. The tropics are also referred to ...

sea, and feed on algae,

plankton Plankton are the diverse collection of organisms found in water (or air) that are unable to propel themselves against a current (or wind). The individual organisms constituting plankton are called plankters. In the ocean, they provide a crucia ...

, and smaller fish. ''Hemiramphus'' species are edible but are more important as food fish for larger

predatory Predation is a biological interaction where one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation (which usually do not kill th ...

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 ...

including

dolphinfish ''Coryphaena'' is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes known as the dolphinfishes, and is currently the only known genus in the family Coryphaenidae. The generic name is from Greek κορυφή (''koryphē'', "crown, top") and -αινα (-''aina' ...

and

billfish The term billfish refers to a group of saltwater predatory fish characterised by prominent pointed bills (rostra), and by their large size; some are longer than . Extant billfish include sailfish and marlin, which make up the family Istioph ...

Species

Hemiramphus far juvénile et son reflet, de nuit

There are currently 12 recognized species in this genus: * '' Hemiramphus archipelagicus'' Collette & Parin, 1978 (Jumping halfbeak) * ''

Hemiramphus balao The Balao halfbeak (''Hemiramphus balao''), occasionally called the Balao for short, is an ocean-going species of fish in the family Hemiramphidae. It was first described by the French naturalist Charles Alexandre Lesueur in 1821. They are used a ...

'' Lesueur, 1821 (Balao halfbeak) * '' Hemiramphus bermudensis'' Collette, 1962 (Bermuda halfbeak) * ''

Hemiramphus brasiliensis 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 troll ...

'' (

Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (; 23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after his ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné Blunt (2004), p. 171. (), was a Swedish botanist, zoologist, taxonomist, and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the ...

, 1758) (Ballyhoo halfbeak) * ''

Hemiramphus bruuni ''Hemiramphus'' is a genus of schooling marine fish commonly called halfbeaks, garfish, or ballyhoos, and are members of the family Hemiramphidae. They inhabit the surface of warm temperate and tropical sea, and feed on algae, plankton, and small ...

'' ( Parin, Collette & Shcherbachev, 1980) * ''

Hemiramphus convexus ''Hemiramphus'' is a genus of schooling marine fish commonly called halfbeaks, garfish, or ballyhoos, and are members of the family Hemiramphidae. They inhabit the surface of warm temperate and tropical sea, and feed on algae, plankton, and small ...

'' M. C. W. Weber & de Beaufort, 1922 * ''

Hemiramphus depauperatus ''Hemiramphus'' is a genus of schooling marine fish commonly called halfbeaks, garfish, or ballyhoos, and are members of the family Hemiramphidae. They inhabit the surface of warm temperate and tropical sea, and feed on algae, plankton, and small ...

'' Lay & E. T. Bennett, 1839 (Tropical halfbeak) * '' Hemiramphus far'' ( Forsskål, 1775) (Blackbarred halfbeak) * '' Hemiramphus lutkei''

Valenciennes Valenciennes (, also , , ; nl, label=also Dutch, Valencijn; pcd, Valincyinnes or ; la, Valentianae) is a commune in the Nord department, Hauts-de-France, France. It lies on the Scheldt () river. Although the city and region experienced a ...

, 1847 (Lutke's halfbeak) * '' Hemiramphus marginatus'' ( Forsskål, 1775) (Yellowtip halfbeak) * '' Hemiramphus robustus'' Günther, 1866 (Three-by-two garfish) * '' Hemiramphus saltator'' C. H. Gilbert & Starks, 1904 (Longfin halfbeak)

References

Hemiramphidae Taxa named by Georges Cuvier Marine fish genera {{Beloniformes-stub