Actinopterygii (ray-finned fishes) >
Beloniformes (Needle fishes) >
Belonidae (Needlefishes)
Etymology: Belone: Greek, belone = needle; any fish with sharp pointed snout; also Pierre Belon, 1517-64, French zoologist born in Le Mans. Professor at the College de France, author of " La nature et diversité des poissons", 1551 (Ref. 45335).
Environment / Climate / Range
Ecology
Marine; brackish; pelagic-oceanic; oceanodromous (Ref. 51243); depth range 0 - ? m. Temperate, preferred 16°C (Ref. 107945); 65°N - 14°N, 32°W - 42°E
Eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean Sea. Three subspecies were recognized by Collette and Parin (1970, Ref. 34977) Belone belone belone (Linnaeus, 1761) (Northeast Atlantic); Belone belone euxini Günther, 1866 (Black Sea and Sea of Azov); Belone belone acus Risso, 1827 (Mediterranean Sea and adjacent parts of Atlantic Ocean, Madeira, Canary Islands, Azores, and south to Cape Verde (Ref. 50279); subspecies Belone belone gracilis Lowe, 1839 (France to the Canary Islands including the Mediterranean) in Collette & Parin, 1990 (Ref. 5757).
Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ? range ? - ? cm
Max length : 104 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 113079); common length : 45.0 cm SL male/unsexed; (Ref. 3397); max. published weight: 1.4 kg (Ref. 113079)
Dorsal
spines
(total): 0;
Dorsal
soft rays
(total): 16-20;
Anal
soft rays: 19 - 23. Jaw teeth comparatively large and widely spaced. Vertebrae 75-84. Vomerine teeth present at lengths greater than 20 cam. Lower jaw a little longer than upper jaw. Juveniles with greatly elongated jaw, without black posterior dorsal fin lobe.
Lives close to the surface and has a migratory pattern similar to the mackerel (Ref. 35388). Feeds on small fishes, particularly clupeids and Engraulis (in the Black Sea). Leaps out of the water when hooked. Oviparous (Ref. 205). Eggs may be found attached to objects in the water by tendrils on the egg's surface (Ref. 205). Utilized fresh and frozen; can be fried, broiled and baked (Ref. 9988).
Collette, B.B. and N.V. Parin, 1986. Belonidae. p. 604-609. In P.J.P. Whitehead, M.-L. Bauchot, J.-C. Hureau, J. Nielsen and E. Tortonese (eds.) Fishes of the north-eastern Atlantic and the Mediterranean, Volume 2. Unesco, Paris. (Ref. 5505)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 115185)
CITES (Ref. 94142)
Not Evaluated
Threat to humans
Harmless
Human uses
Fisheries: commercial; gamefish: yes
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Estimates of some properties based on models
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref.
82805): PD
50 = 0.6250 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00095 (0.00076 - 0.00120), b=3.05 (2.99 - 3.11), in cm Total Length, based on LWR estimates for this species (Ref.
93245).
Trophic Level (Ref.
69278): 4.2 ±0.4 se; Based on diet studies.
Resilience (Ref.
69278): Medium, minimum population doubling time 1.4 - 4.4 years (tm=2; Fec=1000).
Prior r = 0.44, 2 SD range = 0.19 - 1.00, log(r) = -0.82, SD log(r) = 0.41, Based on: 2 K, 2 tgen, 10 Fec records
Vulnerability (Ref.
59153): Moderate to high vulnerability (49 of 100) .
