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Platybelone platyura (Bennett, 1832)

Keeled needlefish
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Platybelone platyura
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Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes(genus, species) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa

Teleostei (teleosts) > Beloniformes (Needle fishes) > Belonidae (Needlefishes)
Etymology: Platybelone: Greek, platys = flat + Greek, belone = needle; any fish with sharp pointed snout; also Pierre Belon, 1517-64, French zoologist born in Le Mans. Professor at the College de France, author of " La nature et diversité des poissons", 1551 (Ref. 45335).
More on author: Bennett.

Issue
Considered mostly as a subspecies in the literature. Therefore the upraise at species rank here is considered as a provisionally accepted name, until more works are conducted on P. argalus susbepcies to fix their status. Considered mostly as a subspecies in the literature. Therefore the upraise at species rank here is considered as a provisionally accepted name, until more works are conducted on P. argalus susbepcies to fix their status.

Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range Ecology

Marine; reef-associated; oceanodromous (Ref. 51243); depth range 0 - 2 m (Ref. 58302). Tropical; 27°N - 46°S, 51°E - 109°W

Distribution Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Point map | Introductions | Faunafri

Indo-Pacific: East Africa to the Hawaiian and Tuamoto islands, north to the Ogasawara Islands. The subspecies platura from the Red Sea to Persian Gulf, platyura in the rest of the Indo-Pacific, and argalus in the tropical Atlantic (Ref. 37816).

Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 45.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 89467); common length : 30.0 cm SL male/unsexed; (Ref. 30573)

Short description Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics

Dorsal spines (total): 0; Dorsal soft rays (total): 12 - 15; Anal spines: 0; Anal soft rays: 15 - 20; Vertebrae: 62 - 75. Gill rakers present; dorsal fin rays few, 12-15; caudal peduncle greatly depressed with very large keel on each side (Ref. 9682). See also Ref. 1602.

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

Inhabits offshore surface waters but is particularly abundant around islands (Ref. 9682). Probably the most common needlefish of reef flats, lagoons and bays where it occurs in groups of a few to several dozen. Carnivorous, feeding mainly on small fishes; marketed fresh (Ref. 9682). Oviparous (Ref. 205). Eggs may be found attached to objects in the water by tendrils on the egg's surface (Ref. 205).

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturities | Reproduction | Spawnings | Egg(s) | Fecundities | Larvae

Main reference Upload your references | References | Coordinator : Collette, Bruce B. | Collaborators

Randall, J.E., G.R. Allen and R.C. Steene, 1990. Fishes of the Great Barrier Reef and Coral Sea. University of Hawaii Press, Honolulu, Hawaii. 506 p. (Ref. 2334)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435)


CITES

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

  Harmless





Human uses

Fisheries: of no interest; gamefish: yes
FAO - Publication: search | FishSource | Sea Around Us

More information

Trophic ecology
Food items
Diet compositions
Food consumptions
Food rations
Predators
Ecology
Ecology
Population dynamics
Growths
Max. ages / sizes
Length-weight rel.
Length-length rel.
Length-frequencies
Mass conversions
Recruitments
Abundances
Life cycle
Reproduction
Maturities
Fecundities
Spawnings
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Egg(s)
Egg developments
Larvae
Larval dynamics
Distribution
Countries
FAO areas
Ecosystems
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Introductions
BRUVS - Videos
Anatomy
Gill areas
Brains
Otoliths
Physiology
Body compositions
Nutrients
Oxygen consumptions
Swimming type
Swimming speeds
Visual pigment(s)
Fish sounds
Diseases / Parasites
Toxicities (LC50s)
Genetics
Genetics
Electrophoreses
Heritabilities
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Aquaculture systems
Aquaculture profiles
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Stamps, coins, misc.
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References

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Internet sources

AFORO (otoliths) | Aquatic Commons | BHL | Cloffa | BOLDSystems | Websites from users | Check FishWatcher | CISTI | Catalog of Fishes: genus, species | DiscoverLife | ECOTOX | FAO - Publication: search | Faunafri | Fishipedia | Fishtrace | GenBank: genome, nucleotide | GloBI | Google Books | Google Scholar | Google | IGFA World Record | MitoFish | National databases | Otolith Atlas of Taiwan Fishes | PubMed | Reef Life Survey | Socotra Atlas | Tree of Life | Wikipedia: Go, Search | World Records Freshwater Fishing | Zoological Record

Estimates based on models

Preferred temperature (Ref. 123201): 26.3 - 29, mean 28 °C (based on 334 cells).
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82804):  PD50 = No PD50 data   [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00112 (0.00043 - 0.00289), b=3.04 (2.81 - 3.27), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this (Sub)family-body shape (Ref. 93245).
Trophic level (Ref. 69278):  4.2   ±0.73 se; based on food items.
Resilience (Ref. 120179):  High, minimum population doubling time less than 15 months (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref. 59153):  Low to moderate vulnerability (35 of 100).
Nutrients (Ref. 124155):  Calcium = 94 [27, 374] mg/100g; Iron = 0.554 [0.248, 1.538] mg/100g; Protein = 17.3 [15.3, 19.3] %; Omega3 = 0.107 [0.043, 0.322] g/100g; Selenium = 18.1 [8.4, 48.4] μg/100g; VitaminA = 205 [57, 789] μg/100g; Zinc = 1.01 [0.59, 1.64] mg/100g (wet weight);