Parexocoetus mento, African sailfin flyingfish : fisheries

Parexocoetus mento (Valenciennes, 1847)

African sailfin flyingfish
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Parexocoetus mento   AquaMaps   Data sources: GBIF OBIS
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Image of Parexocoetus mento (African sailfin flyingfish)
Parexocoetus mento
Picture by Hermosa, Jr., G.V.

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

Teleostei (teleosts) > Beloniformes (Needle fishes) > Exocoetidae (Flyingfishes)
Etymology: Parexocoetus: Greek, para in the side of + Greek, exos = outside + Greek, koite = hole (Ref. 45335).
More on author: Valenciennes.

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

Marine; pelagic-neritic; oceanodromous (Ref. 51243); depth range 0 - 20 m. Tropical; 30°N - 23°S, 20°E - 178°W

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

Indo-Pacific: widespread from East Africa, including the Red Sea and the Gulf, to southern Japan, Marshall Islands, Fiji, the Arafura Sea (Ref. 9819) and Queensland, Australia. Lessepsian migrant to the Mediterranean (Ref. 6523). Presence in Somalia to be confirmed (Ref. 30573). Records from the Atlantic (as Parexocoetus mento atlanticus) are in error.

Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - 13 cm
Max length : 12.3 cm SL male/unsexed; (Ref. 137577)

Short description Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics

Dorsal spines (total): 0; Dorsal soft rays (total): 9 - 12; Anal spines: 0; Anal soft rays: 10 - 12. Dorsal fin mostly blackish; pectorals and caudal greyish, other fins transparent (Ref. 2797).
Body shape (shape guide): elongated.

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

Found in near-shore surface waters, never spread to open sea (Ref. 9839). Capable of leaping out of the water and gliding above the surface (Ref. 30573).

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae

Most die after a single spawning (Ref. 205).

Main reference Upload your references | References | Coordinator : Parin, Nikolay V. | Collaborators

Parin, N.V., 1996. On the species composition of flying fishes (Exocoetidae) in the West-Central part of tropical Pacific. J. Ichthyol. 36(5):357-364. (Ref. 27313)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2025-2)

Not Evaluated 

CITES

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

  Harmless





Human uses

Fisheries: minor commercial
FAO - Publication: search | FishSource |

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Internet sources

AFORO (otoliths) | Alien/Invasive Species database | Aquatic Commons | BHL | Cloffa | Websites from users | Check FishWatcher | CISTI | Catalog of Fishes: genus, species | DiscoverLife | ECOTOX | FAO - Publication: search | Faunafri | Fishipedia | Fishtrace | GloBI | Google Books | Google Scholar | Google | IGFA World Record | National databases | OneZoom | Open Tree of Life | Otolith Atlas of Taiwan Fishes | PubMed | Reef Life Survey | Socotra Atlas | TreeBase | Tree of Life | Wikipedia: Go, Search |