Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes (gen., sp.) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa

Actinopterygii (ray-finned fishes) > Beloniformes (Needle fishes) > Hemiramphidae (Halfbeaks)
Etymology: Hyporhamphus: Greek, hypo = under + Greek, rhamphos = beak, bill (Ref. 45335).

Environment / Climate / Range Ecology

Marine; brackish; pelagic-neritic; depth range 0 - 20 m (Ref. 6390). Temperate, preferred ?; 27°S - 44°S

Distribution Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Point map | Introductions | Faunafri

Eastern Indian Ocean: Endemic to Australian temperate waters (Murchison River, Kalbarri in Western Australia to Eden, New South Wales, including Tasmania).

Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: L_m ?, range 25 - ? cm
Max length : 52.0 cm SL male/unsexed; (Ref. 10988); max. published weight: 600.00 g (Ref. 6390); max. reported age: 10 years (Ref. 27011)

Short description Morphology | Morphometrics

Dorsal spines (total): 0; Dorsal soft rays (total): 15-18; Anal spines: 0; Anal soft rays: 17 - 20; Vertebrae: 55 - 61. Gill rakers usually 33 or less on the first arch and usually 26 or less on the second arch. Relatively shorter upper and lower jaw, especially at larger sizes.

Found inshore in surface waters of estuaries, bays, inlets and gulfs to a depth of about 20 m (Ref. 9563). In the South Australian gulfs, southern sea garfish may be found in deeper waters during the colder months (Ref. 27008). Generally herbivorous, seagrasses and algal filaments comprise about 75% of their food (Refs. 26551, 27013). Form schools, generally found near the surface at night and close to the bottom over seagrass beds during the day (Ref. 6390). Post-larvae or young fish less than 1-year-old live in estuaries from March to July then move to inshore marine waters, remaining there for up to 2 years (Ref. 27012).

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae

Viviparous (Ref. 205).

Main reference Upload your references | References | Coordinator : Collette, Bruce B. | Collaborators

Collette, B.B., 1974. The garfishes (Hemiramphidae) of Australia and New Zealand. Records of the Australian Museum 29(2):11-105. (Ref. 10988)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 115185)

Not Evaluated

CITES (Ref. 94142)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

Harmless

Human uses

Fisheries: commercial; bait: usually

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Estimates of some properties based on models

Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82805): PD₅₀ = 0.5000 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].

Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00204 (0.00091 - 0.00456), b=3.15 (2.97 - 3.33), in cm Total Length, based on LWR estimates for this Genus-body shape (Ref. 93245).

Trophic Level (Ref. 69278): 2.7 ±0.27 se; Based on food items.

Resilience (Ref. 69278): Medium, minimum population doubling time 1.4 - 4.4 years (K=0.51-0.77; tm=2-3; tmax=10).

Prior r = 0.64, 2 SD range = 0.37 - 1.12, log(r) = -0.45, SD log(r) = 0.28, Based on: 2 K, 2 tgen, 1 tmax, 1 Fec records

Vulnerability (Ref. 59153): Low to moderate vulnerability (28 of 100) .

Price category (Ref. 80766): Unknown.

Hyporhamphus melanochir (Valenciennes, 1847)