Needlefish or long toms are piscivorous fishes primarily associated with very shallow marine habitats or the surface of the open sea. Some genera include species found in marine, brackish, and freshwater environments, while a few genera are confined to freshwater rivers and streams, including Belonion, Potamorrhaphis, and Xenentodon. Needlefish closely resemble North American freshwater gars in being elongated and having long, narrow jaws filled with sharp teeth, and some species of needlefishes are referred to as gars or garfish despite being only distantly related to the true gars. In fact, the name "garfish" was originally used for the needlefish Belone belone in Europe and only later applied to the North American fishes by European settlers during the 18th century.
Aulostomus maculatus, the West Atlantic trumpetfish, is a long-bodied fish with an upturned mouth. It often swims vertically while trying to blend with vertical coral, such as sea rods, sea pens, and pipe sponges.
The black swallower, Chiasmodon niger, is a species of deep sea fish in the family Chiasmodontidae. It is known for its ability to swallow fish larger than itself.
The garfish, also known as the garpike or sea needle, is a pelagic, oceanodromous needlefish found in brackish and marine waters of the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean, Caribbean, Black, and Baltic Seas.
The cornetfishes or flutemouths are a small family, the Fistulariidae, of extremely elongated fishes in the order Syngnathiformes. The family consists of a single genus, Fistularia, with four species, found worldwide in tropical and subtropical marine environments.
Xenentodon cancila, the freshwater garfish, is a species of needlefish found in freshwater and brackish habitats in South and Southeast Asia.
The red cornetfish, also known as the rough flutemouth, is a cornetfish of the family Fistulariidae, found in subtropical and tropical oceans worldwide, at depths between 10 m (33 ft) and 200 metres (660 ft). They are up to 2 m (6.6 ft) in length but rarely exceed 1 m (3.3 ft).
The narrowmouthed catshark is a catshark of the family Scyliorhinidae, found from central Chile around the Straits of Magellan, to Argentina between latitudes 23° S and 56° S, at depths down to about 180 m (600 ft) in the Atlantic Ocean and about 360 m (1,200 ft) in the Pacific. It can grow to a length of up to 70 cm (28 in). The reproduction of this catshark is oviparous.
The lesser sand eel or sand lance is a species of fish in the sand lance family Ammodytidae. It is an elongated cylindrical fish which may be up to 20 centimetres (7.9 in) long.
The trumpetfishes are three species of highly specialized, tubularly-elongated marine fishes in the genus Aulostomus, of the monogeneric family Aulostomidae. The trumpetfishes are members of the order Syngnathiformes, together with the seahorses and the similarly built, closely related cornetfishes.
The keeltail needlefish, sometimes called the keeled needlefish, is a tropical fish of the family Belonidae. It was described by the French naturalist Charles Alexandre Lesueur in 1821.
The northern puffer, Sphoeroides maculatus, is a species in the family Tetraodontidae, or pufferfishes, found along the Atlantic coast of North America. Unlike many other pufferfish species, the flesh of the northern puffer is not poisonous. They are commonly called sugar toads in the Chesapeake Bay region, where they are eaten as a delicacy, it can even be eaten raw as long as its meat is properly cleaned. In much of the Northeast, the fish is known simply as "blowfish" or "chicken of the sea".
The flat needlefish, or barred longtom, the only known member of the genus Ablennes, is a marine fish of the family Belonidae. Flat needlefish are considered gamefish, frequently caught with the help of artificial lights, but are not often eaten because of their green-colored flesh.
The Chinese trumpetfish, Aulostomus chinensis, is a demersal marine fish belonging to the family Aulostomidae.
The bluespotted cornetfish, also known as smooth cornetfish or smooth flutemouth, is a marine fish which belongs to the family Fistulariidae. This very long and slender reef-dweller belongs to the same order as the pipefishes and seahorses, called Syngnathiformes.
The Atlantic needlefish is a common demersal needlefish species common in marinas and other areas with minimal currents. Its extremely long jaw and body set this fish apart from other predators. Atlantic needlefish are found from Maine to Brazil and have been known to venture into fresh water for short periods.
Acanthurus tractus, the five-band surgeonfish, ocean surgeon, or ocean surgeonfish, is a species of ray-finned fish in the family Acanthuridae found in the western Atlantic Ocean, Florida, the Bahamas, the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico. Until recently, it was considered a synonym of Acanthurus bahianus, but its status as a separate species was resurrected in 2011.
The Atlantic trumpetfish, Aulostomus strigosus is a species of trumpetfish in the family Aulostomidae. It is a tropical marine fish found in shallow coastal waters in the eastern Atlantic Ocean from Mauritania to Namibia. Like other trumpetfish, they eat mainly small fish and often shadow other piscivores while hunting.
The short-beaked garfish is an uncommon species of needlefish in marine waters of the eastern Atlantic Ocean. This pelagic needlefish is present off the coasts of Ireland, Spain, Portugal, and the United Kingdom, and possibly in the Mediterranean Sea, as well. This species was thought to be the same as the garfish because they share the same waters. The short-beaked garfish matures at 30 cm (12 in) and can grow to a maximum of 65 cm (26 in) while Belone belone can be 95 cm (38 in). Like all needlefish, this one has an elongated body with beak-like jaws that are lined with razor sharp teeth. The short-beaked garfish's lower jaw is longer than the upper. Its body is silvery like most needlefish and has a black stripe running across its lateral line. The dorsal and anal fins are very close to the caudal peduncle. These fish are oviparous. Eggs may be found attached to objects in the water by tendrils on the egg's surface. These spherical eggs are dispersed on the sea floor (demersal). Not much is known about this fish's feeding habits. It likely preys on small oceangoing fish. It has been caught using mackerel. Needlefish tend to be surface fish, so are preyed upon like Atlantic mackerel, European pilchard, sand smelt, etc. The specific name honours Anatolii Nikolaevich Svetovidov (1903-1985) who was an ichthyologist at the Zoological Institute in Saint Petersburg, Russia and a colleague of N.V. Parin.
Fistularia corneta, commonly known as the Pacific cornetfish or the deepwater cornetfish, is a marine fish in the family Fistulariidae. It is endemic to the eastern Pacific Ocean, being found from California to Peru, including many offshore islands. Adult fish are found deeper than 30 metres (98 ft) and have been observed to grow longer than 1 metre (3.3 ft), but are more commonly around 20 centimetres (7.9 in) long. F. corneta feeds on small fishes, and itself is most commonly used by humans as processed fishmeal, which can be marketed as fresh, salted or dried. It is an oviparous species.
