The Exocoetidae are a family of marine ray-finned fish in the order Beloniformes, known colloquially as flying fish or flying cod. About 64 species are grouped in seven genera. While they cannot fly in the same way a bird does, flying fish can make powerful, self-propelled leaps out of the water where their long wing-like fins enable gliding for considerable distances above the water's surface. The main reason for this behavior is thought to be to escape from underwater predators, which include swordfish, mackerel, tuna, and marlin, among others, though their periods of flight expose them to attack by avian predators such as frigate birds.
Maurolicus is an oceanic ray-finned fish genus which belongs in the marine hatchetfish family Sternoptychidae. They are commonly known as pearlsides, but the brilliant pearlside is the related Argyripnus iridescens. Occasionally, "bristle-mouth fishes" is used as a common name, but that usually refers to the genus Argyripnus or the family Gonostomatidae.
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 rays than the anal fin; the dorsal fin is low, with the anterior rays the longest, the pectoral fins are strikingly long, reaching to or almost to caudal fin base; pelvic fins are long, reaching beyond the anal fin origin, and their insertion is closer to the anal fin origin than to the pectoral fin insertion.
Cypselurus is a genus of flying fish in the family Exocoetidae.
Cheilopogon is a genus of flyingfishes.
The mirrorwing flyingfish is a flying fish of the family Exocoetidae. It was first described by the French zoologist, Achille Valenciennes in a 22-volume work titled Histoire naturelle des poissons, which was a collaboration with Georges Cuvier.
Epigonus is a genus of fish in the family Epigonidae found in the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Ocean. The genus was erected by Constantine Samuel Rafinesque in 1810.
The Atlantic flyingfish is a flying fish in the family Exocoetidae. It was first described by the French zoologist, Achille Valenciennes in a 22-volume work entitled Histoire naturelle des poissons, which was a collaboration with fellow zoologist Georges Cuvier.
Dolichopteryx is a genus of barreleyes.
Prognichthys is a genus of flying fishes.
Rhynchorhamphus is a genus of halfbeaks.
The sailfin flying fish is a member of the flying fish family (Exocoetidae). As is typical of other members of its family, this species has the ability to jump out of the water and glide on hypertrophied fins in order to evade predators. It is considered a “two-winged” flying fish, meaning that it only has enlarged pectoral fins, as opposed to “four-winged” flying fish, which have both enlarged pectoral and pelvic fins.
Lepidopus is a genus of fishes belonging to the family Trichiuridae.
Pennella exocoeti is a large ectoparasitic copepod, a specialist parasite of flying fish. The adult female copepod clings to the fish's gills or skin and feeds on its body fluids.
Exocoetus volitans, commonly known as the tropical two-wing flyingfish or blue flyingfish, is a species of ray-finned fish native to tropical and subtropical seas. It can glide above the surface of the sea to escape predators.
Exocoetus obtusirostris, commonly known as the oceanic two-wing flyingfish or the blunt-snouted flyingfish, is a species of ray-finned fish native to the tropical and subtropical western Atlantic Ocean. It has the ability to glide above the surface of the water to escape from predators.
Hirundichthys rondeletii, the black wing flyingfish, is a species of flying fish from the family Exocoetidae which is found throughout the tropical and subtropical waters of the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans.
Exocoetus peruvianus, commonly known as the Peruvian flyingfish, is a species of ray-finned fish endemic to the tropical southeast Pacific Ocean in the waters off Peru and Ecuador.
Exocoetus gibbosus is a species of fish in the family Exocoetidae.
Nikolai Vasilyevich Parin was a Soviet and Russian ichthyologist, specializing in oceanic pelagic fish. He headed the Laboratory of Oceanic Ichthyofauna at the RAS Institute of Oceanology in Moscow, where he ended his career as a Professor after more than fifty-seven years. In his career, he described more than 150 new taxa of fish and participated in 20 major oceanic expeditions. Thirty-six species of fish are named in his honour.
