The Balao halfbeak (''Hemiramphus balao''), occasionally called the Balao for short, is an ocean-going

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

of fish in the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Hemiramphidae Hemiramphidae is a family of fishes that are commonly called halfbeaks, spipe fish or spipefish. They are a geographically widespread and numerically abundant family of epipelagic fish inhabiting warm waters around the world. The halfbeaks are ...

. It was first described by the French naturalist

Charles Alexandre Lesueur Charles Alexandre Lesueur (; 1 January 1778 in Le Havre – 12 December 1846 in Le Havre) was a French Natural history, naturalist, artist, and explorer. He was a prolific natural-history collector, gathering many type specimens in Australia ...

in 1821. They are used as cut bait and for trolling purposes by saltwater sportsmen.McBride, Richard S., Lisa Foushee, and Behzad Mahmoudi. 1996. Florida's Halfbeak, "Hemiramphus" spp., Bait Fisher

''Marine Fisheries Review''. 58(1-2): 29–38.McBride, Richard S.. 2001. Landings, value, and fishing effort for halfbeaks, "Hemiramphus" spp., in the South Florida Lampara Net Fisher

''Proceedings of the 52nd Gulf Caribbean Fisheries Institute''. 52: 103–115.

Description

The Balao halfbeak is similar in appearance to its relative the ballyhoo (''H. brasiliensis''). The main difference between the two is that the distance from the

nare Nare may refer to: People * Daniel Nare, Botswanan football manager * Tadu Teshome Nare (born 2001), Ethiopian runner * Théophile Naré (born 1966), Catholic bishop of Kaya, Burkina Faso Other meanings * Nareh (given name) (or Nare, Nara), Armeni ...

s to the base of the

pectoral fin Fins are moving appendages protruding from the body of fish that interact with water to generate thrust and help the fish aquatic locomotion, swim. Apart from the tail or caudal fin, fish fins have no direct connection with the vertebral column ...

is ''greater'' than the length of the ballyhoo's pectoral fin, while that difference is ''less'' than the length of the Balao halfbeak's pectoral fin They have no

spine Spine or spinal may refer to: Science Biology * Spinal column, also known as the backbone * Dendritic spine, a small membranous protrusion from a neuron's dendrite * Thorns, spines, and prickles, needle-like structures in plants * Spine (zoology), ...

s on

fin A fin is a thin component or appendage attached to a larger body or structure. Fins typically function as foils that produce lift or thrust, or provide the ability to steer or stabilize motion while traveling in water, air, or other fluids. F ...

s, but do have 11–15 rays of their

dorsal fin A dorsal fin is a fin on the back of most marine and freshwater vertebrates. Dorsal fins have evolved independently several times through convergent evolution adapting to marine environments, so the fins are not all homologous. They are found ...

s and 10–13 rays on their

anal fin Fins are moving appendages protruding from the body of fish that interact with water to generate thrust and help the fish swim. Apart from the tail or caudal fin, fish fins have no direct connection with the back bone and are supported o ...

s. Balao halfbeak have blue-gray skin on their

back The human back, also called the dorsum (: dorsa), is the large posterior area of the human body, rising from the top of the buttocks to the back of the neck. It is the surface of the body opposite from the chest and the abdomen. The vertebral c ...

s, while their undersides are silver or white. The longest recorded Balao halfbeak was 40 cm long.Collette, B.B. 1981 Hemiramphidae. In W. Fischer, G. Bianchi and W.B. Scott (eds.) FAO species identification sheets for fishery purposes. Eastern Central Atlantic (Fishing Areas 34, 47 (in part)). Volume 2. Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada and FAO. Rome.

Distribution and habitat

Balao halfbeak are found only in the Atlantic Ocean. In the west, they are known from New York south to Brazil, including much of the Gulf of MexicoRobins, C.R. and G.C. Ray 1986 A field guide to Atlantic coast fishes of North America. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, USA 354 p. and the Caribbean.Collette, B.B. 1978 Hemiramphidae. In W. Fischer (ed.) ''FAO species identification sheets for fishery purposes. Western Central Atlantic (Fishing Area 31)'', Volume 2. FAO, Rome. In the eastern Atlantic, they are known from the

Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; ) or Canaries are an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean and the southernmost Autonomous communities of Spain, Autonomous Community of Spain. They are located in the northwest of Africa, with the closest point to the cont ...

and the

Gulf of Guinea The Gulf of Guinea (French language, French: ''Golfe de Guinée''; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Golfo de Guinea''; Portuguese language, Portuguese: ''Golfo da Guiné'') is the northeasternmost part of the tropical Atlantic Ocean from Cape Lopez i ...

from Victoria, Nigeria to Luanda, Angola.Collette, B.B. and N.V. Parin 1990 Hemiramphidae. p. 579–582. In J.C. Quero, J.C. Hureau, C. Karrer, A. Post and L. Saldanha (eds.) ''Check-list of the fishes of the eastern tropical Atlantic" (CLOFETA)''. JNICT, Lisbon; SEI, Paris; and UNESCO, Paris. Vol. 2. Balao halfbeak have also been recorded from

Côte d'Ivoire Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire and officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital city of Yamoussoukro is located in the centre of the country, while its largest city and ...

.Diouf, P.S. 1996 "Les peuplements de poissons des milieux estuariens de l'Afrique de l'Ouest: L'exemple de l'estuaire hyperhalin du Sine-Saloum". Université de Montpellier II. Thèses et Documents Microfiches No.156. ORSTOM, Paris. 267 p. Balao halfbeak can form fairly large

school A school is the educational institution (and, in the case of in-person learning, the Educational architecture, building) designed to provide learning environments for the teaching of students, usually under the direction of teachers. Most co ...

s where they feed on smaller fishes and

zooplankton Zooplankton are the heterotrophic component of the planktonic community (the " zoo-" prefix comes from ), having to consume other organisms to thrive. Plankton are aquatic organisms that are unable to swim effectively against currents. Consequent ...

. They can be found in both

brackish Brackish water, sometimes termed brack water, is water occurring in a natural environment that has more salinity than freshwater, but not as much as seawater. It may result from mixing seawater (salt water) and fresh water together, as in estuari ...

and marine waters and are associated with

reefs A reef is a ridge or shoal of rock, coral, or similar relatively stable material lying beneath the surface of a natural body of water. Many reefs result from natural, abiotic (non-living) processes such as deposition of sand or wave eros ...

.McBride, Richard S., and Justin R. Styer. 2002
Species Composition, Catch Rates, and Size Structure of Fishes Captured in the South Florida Lampara Net Fishery
''Marine Fisheries Review''. 64(1): 21–27.McBride, Richard S., Justin R. Styer, and Rob Hudson. 2003
Spawning cycles and habitats for ballyhoo (Hemiramphus brasiliensis) and balao (H. balao) in south Florida
''Fishery Bulletin'' 101:583–589. Although they are mainly used by humans as

baitfish 300px, Feeder Goldfish are common baitfish. Bait fish (or baitfish) are small-sized fish caught and used by anglers as bait to attract larger predatory fish, particularly game fish. Baitfish species are typically those that are common and bre ...

for

sailfish The sailfish is one or two species of marine fish in the genus ''Istiophorus'', which belong to the family Istiophoridae ( marlins). They are predominantly blue to gray in colour and have a characteristically large dorsal fin known as the ...

and

marlin Marlins are fish from the family Istiophoridae, which includes between 9 and 11 species, depending on the taxonomic authority. Name The family's common name is thought to derive from their resemblance to a sailor's marlinspike. Taxonomy T ...

, they are also used as food in the

West Indies The West Indies is an island subregion of the Americas, surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, which comprises 13 independent island country, island countries and 19 dependent territory, dependencies in thr ...

. Balao halfbeak are also preyed upon by the

brown noddy The brown noddy or common noddy (''Anous stolidus'') is a seabird in the family Laridae. The largest of the noddies, it can be told from the closely related black noddy by its larger size and plumage, which is dark brown rather than black. The ...

and the sooty tern.

References

McBride, Richard S., and Paul E. Thurman. 2003. Reproductive Biology of Hemiramphus brasiliensis and H. balao (Hemiramphidae): Maturation, Spawning Frequency, and Fecundity. Biol. Bull. 204: 57–67

External links

Fishbase.org entryDiscoverlife.org entryEncyclopedia of Life entryITIS entry
{{DEFAULTSORT:Balao Halfbeak Hemiramphus, Balao halfbeak Fish of the Atlantic Ocean Taxa named by Charles Alexandre Lesueur Fish described in 1821