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Flyingfishes
Exocoetidae
The Exocoetidae is a family of marine fish in the order Beloniformes class Actinopterygii. Fish of this family are known as flying fish. About 64 species are grouped in seven to nine genera. Flying fish can make powerful, self-propelled leaps out of water into air, where their long, wing-like fins enable gliding flight for considerable distances above the water's surface. This uncommon ability is a natural defence mechanism to evade predators.
7 branches of this family, most-observed first · about 80 known species
Cheilopogon
genusCheilopogon
Hirundichthys
genusHirundichthys
Cypselurus
genusCypselurus
Two-wing Flyingfishes
genusExocoetus
Parexocoetus
genusParexocoetus
Fodiator
genusFodiator
Prognichthys
genusPrognichthys
Where it lives
Recorded sightings
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geo-referenced records in GBIF, from museums, herbaria and field observers.
Drag the globe to turn it. Dots are where records exist, not a range map; darker means more records.
In the stacks
Searching the stacks…
Every page naming Exocoetidae in the Biodiversity Heritage Library →
This page is assembled live from iNaturalist, GBIF, Wikipedia, the Source Library and the Internet Archive. It is not yet part of the hand-edited codex. iNaturalist taxon 85777.