Relevant synonyms None Misidentification Hyporhamphus dussumieri Meristic formula D, 15-17; A, 15-17; P, 11-13; V, 6; GR, 31-36  photo : David Darom

SHORT DESCRIPTION Body elongated with a greatly prolonged lower jaw beak-like. The upper jaw short and triangular. Dorsal and anal fin posterior in position. Anal fin origin below the first 1/3 of dorsal fin base. Caudal fin forked, lower lobe larger than upper. Pelvic fin abdominal situated behind midpoint of flank. Pectoral fin short. Body covered with relatively large cycloid scales. Small scales on the upper jaw. color : back dark bluish green with silvery white belly. size : 20-22 cm (max. 26 cm). DISTINGUISHING CHARACTERISTICS Hemiramphus far: upper jaw naked (scaled in H. affinis). Hyporhamphus picarti: caudal fin only slightly forked, the inner rays more than half the length of the outer rays. BIOLOGY / ECOLOGY Feeds on zooplankton and floating matter. Eggs covered with adhesive filaments to assist in attaching to floating and benthic objects. habitat : epipelagic, inshore.

1st MEDITERRANEAN RECORD Lebanon, 1964. DISTRIBUTION Worldwide : wide Indo-Pacific from the Red Sea and eastern Africa throughout the Indian Ocean to the Islands of Oceania. Mediterranean : only a single specimen has been collected in the coastal waters of Lebanon, misidentified as Hyporhamphus dussumieri (George et al., 1964). More recently recorded along the coasts of Tunisia. ESTABLISHMENT SUCCESS Very rare. speculated reasons for success : - MODE OF INTRODUCTION Via the Suez Canal. IMPORTANCE TO HUMANS None.

KEY REFERENCES George C.J., Athanassiou V.A. and Boulos I., 1964. The fishes of the coastal waters of Lebanon. Miscellaneous Papers in the Natural Sciences, The American University of Beirut, 4: 1-24. Kinzelbach R., 2007.  First record of the tropical halfbeak Hyporhamphus affinis (Günther, 1866) in Tunesia (Teleostei: Hemirhamphidae). Rostocker Meeresbiolgische Beiträge, 18: 82-83. FEEDBACK / COMMENTS TO AUTHORS

Last update of the species sheet: November 2013 ©ciesm 2002