The houndfish, or more specifically the crocodile needlefish (''Tylosurus crocodilus'') is a

game fish Game fish, sport fish or quarry refer to popular fish species pursued by recreational fishing, recreational fishers (typically angling, anglers), and can be freshwater fish, freshwater or saltwater fish. Game fish can be fish as food, eaten aft ...

of 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 ...

Belonidae Needlefish (Family (biology), family Belonidae) or long toms are piscivorous bony fish, fishes primarily associated with very shallow marine habitats or the surface of the open sea. Some genera include species found in marine, brackish, and fre ...

, the needlefishes. It is the largest member of its family, growing up to in length and in weight.

Taxonomy

The houndfish was described as ''Belona crocodila'' by François Péron and Charles Alexandre Lesueur in 1821 with the type locality given as Mauritius. Two

subspecies In Taxonomy (biology), biological classification, subspecies (: subspecies) is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (Morphology (biology), morpholog ...

of the houndfish were recognised: *''Tylosurus crocodilus crocodilus'' (Péron & Lesueur 1821) *''Tylosurus crocodilus fodiator'' Jordan & Gilbert 1882 However,

Fishbase FishBase is a global species database of fish species (specifically finfish). It is the largest and most extensively accessed online database on adult finfish on the web.

now recognises ''T.c. fodiator'' as a valid species, '' Tylosurus fodiator'', the Mexican needlefish.

Description

A key way of distinguishing the houndfish from other members of the genus ''Tylosurus'' is that the houndfish's

teeth A tooth (: teeth) is a hard, calcified structure found in the jaws (or mouths) of many vertebrates and used to break down food. Some animals, particularly carnivores and omnivores, also use teeth to help with capturing or wounding prey, tear ...

point

anterior Standard anatomical terms of location are used to describe unambiguously the anatomy of humans and other animals. The terms, typically derived from Latin or Greek roots, describe something in its standard anatomical position. This position pro ...

ly when the fish is a juvenile. The teeth of other species are straight at all ages.Collette, B.B. 1999 Belonidae. Needlefishes. p. 2151–2161. In: K.E. Carpenter and V.H. Niem (eds.) FAO species identification guide for fishery purposes. The living marine resources of the Western Central Pacific. Volume 4. Bony fishes part 2 (Mugilidae to Carangidae). FAO, Rome. The houndfish also has a more stout,

cylindrical A cylinder () has traditionally been a Solid geometry, three-dimensional solid, one of the most basic of curvilinear geometric shapes. In elementary geometry, it is considered a Prism (geometry), prism with a circle as its base. A cylinder may ...

body and a shorter head than other

needlefish Needlefish (family Belonidae) or long toms are piscivorous fishes primarily associated with very shallow marine habitats or the surface of the open sea. Some genera include species found in marine, brackish, and freshwater environments (e.g., ...

es. Juvenile houndfish possess an elevated, black lobe on the posterior of their dorsal fins. While the houndfish has no fin

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, its

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 ...

has 21–25 soft rays, and its

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 ...

has 19–22. They are also known to have 80–86

vertebra Each vertebra (: vertebrae) is an irregular bone with a complex structure composed of bone and some hyaline cartilage, that make up the vertebral column or spine, of vertebrates. The proportions of the vertebrae differ according to their spina ...

e. They have dark blue backs and silver-white sides and are plain white

ventral Standard anatomical terms of location are used to describe unambiguously the anatomy of humans and other animals. The terms, typically derived from Latin or Greek roots, describe something in its standard anatomical position. This position prov ...

ly.Collette, B.B. 1986 Belonidae p. 385–387. In M.M. Smith and P.C. Heemstra (eds.) Smiths' sea fishes. Springer-Verlag, Berlin. A houndfish has a distinct

keel The keel is the bottom-most longitudinal structural element of a watercraft, important for stability. On some sailboats, it may have a fluid dynamics, hydrodynamic and counterbalancing purpose as well. The keel laying, laying of the keel is often ...

on the

caudal peduncle 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 only ...

, and the

caudal 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 only ...

itself is deeply forked. The longest recorded houndfish was ,Sommer, C., W. Schneider and J.-M. Poutiers 1996 FAO species identification field guide for fishery purposes. The living marine resources of Somalia. FAO, Rome. 376 p. and the largest recorded weight was .IGFA 2001 Database of IGFA angling records until 2001. IGFA, Fort Lauderdale, USA.

Distribution and habitat

Houndfish are found throughout the Indian and

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...

s, their range stretching from the

Red Sea The Red Sea is a sea inlet of the Indian Ocean, lying between Africa and Asia. Its connection to the ocean is in the south, through the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait and the Gulf of Aden. To its north lie the Sinai Peninsula, the Gulf of Aqaba, and th ...

and the

coast A coast (coastline, shoreline, seashore) is the land next to the sea or the line that forms the boundary between the land and the ocean or a lake. Coasts are influenced by the topography of the surrounding landscape and by aquatic erosion, su ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

, east to

French Polynesia French Polynesia ( ; ; ) is an overseas collectivity of France and its sole #Governance, overseas country. It comprises 121 geographically dispersed islands and atolls stretching over more than in the Pacific Ocean, South Pacific Ocean. The t ...

,Randall, J. E. and Y. H. Sinoto 1978 Rapan fish names. B. P. Bishop Mus. Occas. Pap. 24(15:294-306. towards

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

,Masuda, H., K. Amaoka, C. Araga, T. Uyeno and T. Yoshino 1984 The fishes of the Japanese Archipelago. Vol. 1. Tokai University Press, Tokyo, Japan. 437 p. (text) and south to

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

.Fricke, R. 1999 Fishes of the Mascarene Islands (Réunion, Mauritius, Rodriguez): an annotated checklist, with descriptions of new species. Koeltz Scientific Books, Koenigstein, Theses Zoologicae, Vol. 31: 759 p. The houndfish is replaced by its congener the Mexican needlefish in the eastern Pacific. Houndfish are known from

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

in the west Atlantic,Robins, C. R. and G. C. Ray 1986 A field guide to Atlantic coast fishes of North America. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, U.S.A. 354 p. and in the east, they are found from Fernando Poo,

Cameroon Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon, is a country in Central Africa. It shares boundaries with Nigeria to the west and north, Chad to the northeast, the Central African Republic to the east, and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the R ...

, and

Liberia Liberia, officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to Liberia–Sierra Leone border, its northwest, Guinea to Guinea–Liberia border, its north, Ivory Coast to Ivory Coast–Lib ...

Ascension Island Ascension Island is an isolated volcanic island, 7°56′ south of the Equator in the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic Ocean. It is about from the coast of Africa and from the coast of South America. It is governed as part of the British Overs ...

.Collette, B. B. and N. V. Parin 1990 Belonidae. p. 592–597. 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 Houndfish can also be found near

Guinea Guinea, officially the Republic of Guinea, is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Guinea-Bissau to the northwest, Senegal to the north, Mali to the northeast, Côte d'Ivoire to the southeast, and Sier ...

Senegal Senegal, officially the Republic of Senegal, is the westernmost country in West Africa, situated on the Atlantic Ocean coastline. It borders Mauritania to Mauritania–Senegal border, the north, Mali to Mali–Senegal border, the east, Guinea t ...

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. and

Cape Verde Cape Verde or Cabo Verde, officially the Republic of Cabo Verde, is an island country and archipelagic state of West Africa in the central Atlantic Ocean, consisting of ten volcanic islands with a combined land area of about . These islands ...

.Reiner, F. 1996 Catálogo dos peixes do Arquipélago de Cabo Verde. Publicações avulsas do IPIMAR No. 2. 339 p. It has been recorded in the eastern

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern Eur ...

, having moved from the Red Sea via the

Suez Canal The Suez Canal (; , ') is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, Indo-Mediterranean, connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea through the Isthmus of Suez and dividing Africa and Asia (and by extension, the Sinai Peninsula from the rest ...

as part of the

Lessepsian migration The Lessepsian migration (or Erythrean invasion) is the migration of marine species along the Suez Canal, usually from the Red Sea to the Mediterranean Sea, and more rarely in the opposite direction. When the canal was completed in 1869, fish, ...

. A

pelagic The pelagic zone consists of the water column of the open ocean and can be further divided into regions by depth. The word ''pelagic'' is derived . The pelagic zone can be thought of as an imaginary cylinder or water column between the sur ...

animal,Claro, R. 1994 Características generales de la ictiofauna. pp. 55–70. In R. Claro (ed.) Ecología de los peces marinos de Cuba. Instituto de Oceanología Academia de Ciencias de Cuba and Centro de Investigaciones de Quintana Roo. houndfish can be found over

lagoon A lagoon is a shallow body of water separated from a larger body of water by a narrow landform, such as reefs, barrier islands, barrier peninsulas, or isthmuses. Lagoons are commonly divided into ''coastal lagoons'' (or ''barrier lagoons'') an ...

s and seaward

reef 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 component, abiotic (non-living) processes such as deposition (geol ...

s either as individuals or small groups, where they feed mainly on smaller fishes.Thollot, P. 1996 Les poissons de mangrove du lagon sud-ouest de Nouvelle-Calédonie. ORSTOM Éditions, Paris. Houndfish lay eggs which attach themselves to objects in the water via

tendril In botany, a tendril is a specialized Plant stem, stem, leaf or Petiole (botany), petiole with a thread-like shape used by climbing plants for support and attachment, as well as cellular invasion by parasitic plants such as ''Cuscuta''. There ar ...

s on the surface of each egg.Breder, C. M. and D. E. Rosen 1966 Modes of reproduction in fishes. T.F.H. Publications, Neptune City, New Jersey. 941 p.

Relationship to humans

Houndfish are considered to be

gamefish Game fish, sport fish or quarry refer to popular fish species pursued by recreational fishers (typically anglers), and can be freshwater or saltwater fish. Game fish can be eaten after being caught, preserved as taxidermy (though rare), or ...

, and can be caught by use of

artificial light Lighting or illumination is the deliberate use of light to achieve practical or aesthetic effects. Lighting includes the use of both artificial light sources like lamps and light fixtures, as well as natural illumination by capturing daylight. ...

s in a similar manner to other needlefishes. Although houndfish are considered good to eat and usually sold fresh, the market for them is small because their flesh has a greenish colour similar to that of the flat needlefish.Cervigón, F., R. Cipriani, W. Fischer, L. Garibaldi, M. Hendrickx, A. J. Lemus, R. Márquez, J. M. Poutiers, G. Robaina and B. Rodriguez 1992 Fichas FAO de identificación de especies para los fines de la pesca. Guía de campo de las especies comerciales marinas y de aquas salobres de la costa septentrional de SAmérica. FAO, Rome. p. 513. Preparado con el financiamento de la Comisión de Comunidades Europeas y de NORAD. The IGFA world record stands at 4.88 kg (10 lbs 12 oz) and was caught off Goulding Cay,

Bahamas The Bahamas, officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an archipelagic and island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the Atlantic Ocean. It contains 97 per cent of the archipelago's land area and 88 per cent of its population. ...

in 2013 by angler Daniel John Leonard using a live

pilchard Sardine and pilchard are common names for various species of small, oily forage fish in the herring suborder Clupeoidei. The term "sardine" was first used in English during the early 15th century; a somewhat dubious etymology says it comes ...

as bait. Houndfish are considered to be dangerous, and are feared by fishermen because of their size and tendency to leap out of the water, causing puncture wounds with their beaks, when frightened or attracted to the lights used to catch them. In April 2000, a woman snorkeling in the Florida Keys was severely injured when she was stabbed in the neck by a houndfish that leapt out of the water. In October, 2010 an ocean-

kayak ] A kayak is a small, narrow human-powered watercraft typically propelled by means of a long, double-bladed paddle. The word ''kayak'' originates from the Inuktitut word '' qajaq'' (). In British English, the kayak is also considered to be ...

er was injured when she was struck in the back (and was treated for a

collapsed lung A pneumothorax is collection of air in the pleural space between the lung and the chest wall. Symptoms typically include sudden onset of sharp, one-sided chest pain and shortness of breath. In a minority of cases, a one-way valve is formed by ...

) by the beak of a houndfish that jumped out of the water near her boat. In 2024, a tourist named

Giulia Manfrini Giulia Manfrini (11 August 1988 – 18 October 2024) was an Italian surfer who also competed in snowboarding and skiing. Biography Manfrini was born in Venaria Reale, Turin. She was involved in sports as a child beginning with skiing and then ...

was killed in the in the

Mentawai islands Mentawai may refer to: * Mentawai Islands, Indonesia ** Mentawai Strait ** Mentawai people, ethnic group of Indonesia ** Mentawai language, their Austronesian language {{dab Language and nationality disambiguation pages ...

by a houndfish that struck her in the chest.

References

External links

Discoverlife.orgzipcodezooITISFishbase on T. c. crocodilusFisbase on T. c. fodiatorWhatsThatFish.comLeaping fish spears kayaker off Florida Keys: 10/18/10
{{Taxonbar, from=Q3278635 Tylosurus Pantropical fish Taxa named by François Péron Taxa named by Charles Alexandre Lesueur Fish described in 1821