Blackwing flying fish
The blackwing flying fish, known for its distinctive dark pectoral fins, is a species that utilizes its fins like wings to glide above the water's surface. Found in temperate and tropical waters across the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans, this fish exhibits a silvery body adorned with bluish-black fins and a characteristic dusky black dorsal fin. Blackwing flying fish can grow up to one foot (30 centimeters) in length and are recognized for their unique pectoral fin structure, which differs from that of similar species, like the margined flying fish.
In addition to gliding, these fish are adept swimmers, using their fins and smaller pelvic fins for propulsion in the water. Their gliding behavior is typically a response to predators, allowing them to escape by leaping out of the water. They primarily feed on a carnivorous diet that includes insects, crabs, and small surface-dwelling organisms, which they filter from the water as it passes through their gills. Reproduction occurs through a spawning process, where females release eggs that are fertilized by males; the young hatch and swim to the surface shortly after. Notably, the lifespan of the blackwing flying fish is typically less than one year.
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Blackwing flying
The blackwing flying fish was named blackwing for its dark pectoral, or side, fins. Like other flying fish, the blackwing flying fish uses its pectoral fins as wings to glide through the air. It can swim quickly enough to catch onto the wind and lift completely out of the water. The flights of the blackwing flying fish usually only last a few seconds.
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Beloniformes
Family: Exocoetidae
Genus: Hirundichthys
Species: Rondeletii
The blackwing flying fish is found in the temperate and tropical waters of the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans. They have silver scales covering their bodies. Its dorsal, or back, fin is a dusky black and its pectoral, or side, fins are bluish black with clear patches on the areas nearest to the fish's body. The young blackwing flying fish has a transparent, or clear, dorsal fin with dark edges. This fin gets darker as the fish gets older. The blackwing flying fish grows to about one foot (30 centimeters) long. The blackwing flying fish is similar to the margined flying fish, but its pectoral fin is divided, instead of single, and its anal fin begins farther back on its body.
Like other flying fish, the blackwing flying fish uses its pectoral fins in two ways. In the water, it uses these fins and its smaller pelvic fins to paddle. When out of the water, the blackwing flying fish uses its pectoral fins as wings. Beginning its flight, the blackwing flying fish swims quickly near the water’s surface. When it gathers enough speed, it emerges from the water and glides on the wing for a few seconds. The flights of the blackwing flying fish are usually the result of escaping a predator. Sometimes the predators realize that the blackwing flying fish has to return to the water. The predator tries to determine where the blackwing flying fish will re-enter the water. It goes to that place and waits for its prey. The blackwing flying fish is preyed upon by larger, stronger, predatory fish.
These fish live near the water’s surface, jumping out of the water and eating zooplankton and fish larvae. The blackwing flying fish is carnivorous, or meat-eating. It feeds on a diet of insects, insect larvae, crabs, and tiny, surface-dwelling organisms. The blackwing flying fish catches these organisms by filtering water through their mouths and gill rakers. As water passes through their gills, these tiny organisms get caught in the fish's gill rakers.
It is unknown when the blackwing flying fish mates, but the process begins with the release of the eggs by the female. The male fertilizes the eggs. This system of releasing and fertilizing eggs is known as spawning. After the eggs are fertilized, they drift toward the ocean floor. Before reaching the bottom, the young hatch and swim toward the surface.
The lifespan of the blackwing flying fish is less than one year.
Bibliography
"Hirundichthys Volador (Jordan, 1884)." Fish Base, fishbase.mnhn.fr/summary/67993. Accessed 1 May 2024.
"Species: Hirundichthys volador, Atlantic Blackwing Flyingfish." Shorefishes of the Eastern Pacific Online Information System, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, biogeodb.stri.si.edu/caribbean/en/thefishes/species/2620. Accessed 1 May 2024.