''Hirundichthys rondeletii'', the black wing flyingfish, is a species of flying fish from 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 ...

Exocoetidae 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 ...

which is found throughout the tropical and subtropical waters of the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans.

Description

''Hirundichthys rondeletii'' has an elongate body which is almost rectangular in cross-section, being somewhat flattened ventrally. It has a short, blunt snout with a small mouth in which the jaws are nearly equal in length and are equipped with conspicuous teeth but there are no palatine teeth present. It has a low

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 ...

which has 10-12 soft rays while the

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 ...

has 11 to 13 soft rays and originates just before, or below the first or second dorsal fin rays. 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 ...

s are 1.3 to 1.4 the

standard length Fish measurement is the measuring of individual fish and various parts of their anatomies. These data are used in many areas of ichthyology, including taxonomy and fisheries biology. Overall length * Standard length (SL) is the length of a fish m ...

and contain 17 to 19 soft rays, of which the first 2 rays are unbranched. The

pelvic fin Pelvic fins or ventral fins are paired fins located on the ventral surface of fish. The paired pelvic fins are homologous to the hindlimbs of tetrapods. Structure and function Structure In actinopterygians, the pelvic fin consists of two en ...

s are 2.8 to 3.4 of the standard length and are situated closer to the rear margin of gill cover than they are to base of the tail. Their bodies are body dark, iridescent blue dorsally and pale, silvery ventrally. The dorsal and caudal fins are greyish, the anal fin is transparent, the pectoral fins are black with a thin, pale outer margin; pelvic fins normally have a black spot. The barbless juveniles are less than standard length and are marked with a few dark vertical bands on the body while the dorsal, pectoral, and pelvic fins are mottled with dark spots and bands.

Distribution

''Hirundichthys rondeletii'' is widely distributed in the tropical and subtropical waters of all of the worlds oceans. In the eastern Atlantic it is a rare

vagrant Vagrancy is the condition of homelessness without regular employment or income. Vagrants (also known as bums, vagabonds, rogues, tramps or drifters) usually live in poverty and support themselves by begging, scavenging, petty theft, temporar ...

north to Spain and the

English Channel The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" (Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), (Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Kana ...

but its main range extends from Portugal as far south as Namibia and some times South Africa. It is also found in the western Mediterranean where it migrates south east in the winter. In the western Atlantic it is found as far north as

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

and

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south to the coast southern Brazil, although it has been recorded from Canada. In the eastern Pacific the distribution of this species extends from California south to Chile.

Habitat and biology

''Hirundichthys rondeletii'' is a

pelagic The pelagic zone consists of the water column of the open ocean, and can be further divided into regions by depth (as illustrated on the right). The word ''pelagic'' is derived . The pelagic zone can be thought of as an imaginary cylinder or wa ...

, oceanodromous species which inhabits the surface waters. It is able to leap out of the water and glide for considerable distances over the surface. Its diet consist of

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 ...

. The eggs have a bunch of filaments at one pole with a single filament at the opposite pole. This species is considered to be on no importance in fisheries.

Taxonomy and naming

''Hirundichthys rondeletii'' is the

type species In zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the species that contains the biological type specimen ...

of the

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

Hirundichthys ''Hirundichthys'' is a genus of flying fish. They have elongated, moderately thick, ventrally flattened bodies. The pectoral branch of the lateral line is absent. The upper jaw is not protrusible. The dorsal fin has fewer or equal (rarely one mo ...

'', although there is some uncertainty about the exact identity of ''Exocoetus rubescens'', the species

Charles Marcus Breder Jr. Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was "f ...

designated as the type species of the genus in 1928. This species was originally described as ''Exocoetus rondeletii'' in 1847 by the

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

ichthyologist Ichthyology is the branch of zoology devoted to the study of fish, including bony fish ( Osteichthyes), cartilaginous fish (Chondrichthyes), and jawless fish (Agnatha). According to FishBase, 33,400 species of fish had been described as of Octobe ...

Achille Valenciennes in the book he cowrote with

George Cuvier Jean Léopold Nicolas Frédéric, Baron Cuvier (; 23 August 1769 – 13 May 1832), known as Georges Cuvier, was a French naturalist and zoologist, sometimes referred to as the "founding father of paleontology". Cuvier was a major figure in nat ...

entitled ''Histoire naturelle des poissons'', the type locality was given as

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

. The

specific name Specific name may refer to: * in Database management systems, a system-assigned name that is unique within a particular database In taxonomy, either of these two meanings, each with its own set of rules: * Specific name (botany), the two-part (bino ...

honours the French

physician A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...

and naturalist Guillaume Rondelet (1507-1566) who appears to have illustrated this species in his work ''Libri de piscibus marinis'' published in 1554-55.

References

{{Taxonbar, From = Q2150184 rondeletiid Fish described in 1847