Garfish

Garfish
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Beloniformes
Family:	Belonidae
Genus:	Belone
Species:	B. belone
Binomial name
Belone belone (Linnaeus, 1761)
The range of the garfish
Synonyms
Esox belone Linnaeus, 1761 Belone belone belone (Linnaeus, 1761) Belone bellone (Linnaeus, 1761) Belone longirostris Schinz, 1822 Belone acus Risso, 1827 Belone vulgaris Fleming, 1828 Belone rostrata Faber, 1829 Hemiramphus europaeus Yarrell, 1837 Belone gracilis Lowe, 1839 Belone belone gracilis Lowe, 1839 Hemiramphus balticus Hohnbaum-Hornschuch, 1843 Hemiramphus behnii Hohnbaum-Hornschuch, 1843 Belone vulgaris Valenciennes, 1846 Belone undecimradiata Budge, 1848 Hemiramphus obtusus Couch, 1848 Macrognathus scolopax Gronow, 1854 Belone euxini Günther, 1866 Belone belone euxini Günther, 1866 Belone cornidii Günther, 1866 Belone linnei Malm, 1877

The garfish (Belone belone), or sea needle, is a pelagic, oceanodromous needlefish found in brackish and marine waters of the Atlantic, the Mediterranean Sea, Caribbean Sea and the Baltic Sea.

Description

The garfish is a long and slender fish with a laterally-compressed body, and grows to about 50 to 75 centimetres (20 to 30 in) in length. The jaws are elongated and armed with sharp teeth. The pectoral, dorsal and anal fins are situated well back on the body and the latter two are similar in appearance. Positioning the fins so far back gives greater flexibility to the body. The lateral line is set low on the flanks. The colour of the body is bluish green with a silvery grey belly and the bones are green.^[1]

Evolution

Garfish are from an ancient lineage closer in some respects to the ancestors of land animals than teleost fish are. Genes from garfish can initiate the development of paws or hands in mice. ^[2]

Behaviour

Garfish are pelagic fish which live close to the water surface. They eat small fish and have a migratory pattern similar to that of the mackerel, arriving a short time before the latter to spawn. They move into shallow waters in April and May and spawn in areas with eelgrass in May and June. In the autumn they return to the open sea, including the Atlantic west of the British Isles. Garfish are oviparous and the eggs are often found attached to objects in the water by tendrils on the egg's surface.

The garfish is a predator which hunts in the open sea seeking out shoals of small fish such as Atlantic herring, sprats, sand eels and even three-spined sticklebacks. They also feed on free-swimming crustaceans.^[1]

Use as food

Garfish are sometimes caught as bycatch, mainly in fixed nets along the coast in shallow waters. If caught with rod and line they tend to leap out of the water when hooked. Garfish are eaten boiled, fried, baked, barbecued or smoked. They have unusual green bones (due to the presence of biliverdin) which discourages many people from eating them, but the green colour is harmless.

Notes

References

• Froese, Rainer and Pauly, Daniel, eds. (2007). "Belone belone" in FishBase. Apr 2007 version.
•  Reynolds, Francis J., ed. (1921). "Garfish". Collier's New Encyclopedia. New York: P.F. Collier & Son Company. 

Wikispecies has information related to: Belone belone

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Belone belone.

Fish
About fish	Diversity Ethnoichthyology Evolution Diseases and parasites Fisheries Fishing Fish as food Fear of fish FishBase Fish kill Hypoxia in fish Ichthyology
Anatomy and physiology	Fish anatomy Fish physiology Estimating age Anguilliformity Bone dermal intramembranous ossification Cleithrum Chromatophore Fins dorsal fin Gill branchial arch gill raker gill slit pharyngeal arch pharyngeal slit pseudobranch Glossohyal Jaw hyomandibula pharyngeal jaw Leydig's organ Mauthner cell Meristics Operculum papillare Papilla Photophore Root effect Shark cartilage Scales ganoine Spiral valve Suckermouth Swim bladder physoclisti physostome Teeth pharyngeal teeth shark teeth Teleost leptins Digital Library
Sensory systems	Sensory systems in fish Ampullae of Lorenzini Barbel Hydrodynamic reception Electrocommunication Electroreception Jamming avoidance response Lateral line Otolith Passive electrolocation Capacity for pain Schreckstoff Surface wave detection Vision Weberian apparatus
Reproduction	Fish reproduction Bubble nest Clasper Egg case Fish development Ichthyoplankton Juvenile fish Life history theory Milt Mouthbrooder Polyandry in fish Pregnancy Roe Sequential hermaphroditism Spawning triggers
Locomotion	Fish locomotion Fin and flipper locomotion Amphibious fish Walking fish Flying fish Undulatory locomotion Tradeoffs for locomotion in air and water RoboTuna
Other behaviour	Aquatic predation Aquatic respiration Bait ball Bottom feeders Cleaner fish Diel vertical migration Electric fish Filter feeders Forage fish Migrating fish Paedophagy Predatory fish Salmon run Sardine run Scale eaters Schooling fish Sleep in fish Venomous fish Fish intelligence
By habitat	Cave Coastal Coldwater Coral reef Deep sea Demersal Euryhaline Freshwater Groundfish Pelagic Tropical
Other types	Bait Coarse Diversity Game Genetically modified Hallucinogenic Oily Poisonous Rough Whitefish
Commercial	Fish farming Carp Salmonids Tilapia Wild fisheries Predatory fish billfish mackerel salmon tuna Forage fish anchovy herring sardine sprats Demersal fish cod flatfish pollock
Major groups	Jawless fish hagfish lampreys Cartilaginous fish chimaeras sharks rays Bony fish spiny-finned fleshy-finned
Lists	Aquarium life Blind fish Fish common names Fish families Fish on stamps Glossary of ichthyology Large fish Threatened rays sharks Prehistoric fish more lists...
Category Portal WikiProject