Hound needlefish
Tylosurus crocodilus
(Péron & Lesueur, 1821)
Description:
A highly reflective, silvery fish with a thin, elongate body and long, narrow, pointed jaws and a forked tail. Upper and lower jaws of nearly equal length, about one and a half times the length of the head. May have a darkish bar, or bars on the gill cover. Base of the tail with a black lateral keel on each side. Lower lobe of the tail larger than the upper one.
Size up to 1.5 m.
Habitat:
Hover or swim just below the surface, just outside the surf zone in shallow bays, and occasionally above reefs and open water. Depth range 0 - 13 m.
Distribution:
Occasional Florida, Bahamas and Caribbean.
Remarks:
Juveniles resemble these of the Flat and Keeltail needlefish (Ablennes hians and Playbelone argalus). The Ballyhoo (Hemiramphus brasiliensis) and Balao (Hemiramphus balao) have an extremely short upper jaw.