Flying fish
Flying fish actually glide rather than truly fly. They launch themselves into the air by beating the tail very fast and spreading their pectoral fins to use as wings. There are 52 different species of flying fish which are found in the Indian, Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.
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Self-sacrificing fish Featured in the following TV programmes
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Catch Up
Life: Fish
A look at various fish species including sea dragon, fringehead and Hawaiian goby.
Earth News
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Fast flying fish glides by ferry
Some remarkable footage of a flying fish has been captured by a TV crew filming off the southern tip of Japan.
About
Exocoetidae, aptly known as flying fish, are a marine fish family comprising about 64 species grouped in seven to nine genera. Flying fish are found in all of the major oceans, particularly in the warm tropical and subtropical waters of the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian oceans. Their most striking feature is their pectoral fins, which are unusually large, and enable the fish to hide and escape from predators by leaping out of the water, taking short glided flights through air just above the water's surface. Their glides are typically around 50 m (160 ft), but they can use updrafts at the leading edge of waves to cover distances of at least 400 m (1,300 ft).
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Featured in...
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The wildlife of Life
In autumn 2009, a major new series brought us life as we've never seen it before.
Scientific Classification
Family: Flying fish (Exocoetidae)
Elsewhere on the web
- Exocoetidae (animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu)
- Flying fish photos (seapics.com)
- Fishbase facts (fishbase.org)
- Flying fish (wikipedia.org)
Site links
BBC links
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