Flyingfish
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| Flyingfishes | ||||||||||
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 Sailfin flyingfish (Parexocoetus brachypterus) | ||||||||||
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Cheilopogon |
The Execoetidae or flyingfishes are a marine fish family comprising about 70 species grouped in 7 to 9 genera.
Flyingfish are found in all the major oceans. Their most striking feature is their pectoral fins, which are unusually large, and enable the fish to take short gliding flights, some have been observed soaring for hundreds of metres using the updraft on the leading edges of waves. Flyingfish use this ability to escape predators (they can't see beyond the water's surface). In some species the pelvic fins are also unusually large, so the fish appears to have four wings. The caudal fin is usually deeply forked, with the upper lobe shorter than the lower. The eyes are flatter than normal fish eyes in order to see above the surface. Flyingfish eat plankton.
Most species reach a maximum length of 30cm, though a few may be as long as 45cm. In gliding, flyingfish can almost double their speed, reaching speeds up to 60km/h.
Flying fish, often preserved by drying, are a staple of the Tao people of Orchid Island. The roe of the flyingfish (Tobiko) is used in Japanese cuisine to make some types of sushi.
The Exocet guided missile is presumably named after these fish.
External link
Fishbase entry for flyingfish (http://www.fishbase.org/Summary/FamilySummary.cfm?ID=206)de:Fliegende Fische ja:トビウオ zh-cn:飞鱼