MASTERS OF THE WATER-BONY FISHES 199 



from Baja California to Japan. Both reach P/2 feet, though the Atlantic form has 

 been recorded to 30 inches. Schools of thousands of individuals will rise at once 

 out of the water, leaping, and skittering on the surface, when pursued by 

 predators such as tuna and bluefish. 



FLYING FISHES: Family Exocoetidae 



The "little bluebirds" of the sea do not have extended beaks like other 

 synentognaths, but they can be immediately recognized by the very large wing- 

 like pectorals. In these fish, the leaping tendencies of all synentognaths reach 

 a climax. Almost anyone who has traveled tropical seas in a boat has seen them 

 repeatedly spring up in front of the boat either singly or several at a time. 

 They may sail off singly in any direction regardless of the direction of the 

 wind or several may sail in precise formations. Flying fishes are swift, pelagic 

 fishes usually found over deep water. 



Breder and Edgerton (1946) have examined the flight of these fishes by 

 using a high-speed camera and stroboscopic lights. They found that before 

 take-off^ the tail beats as many as fifty times a second in order to drive the fish 

 to the 40 mph necessary for take-off. The pectorals (and sometimes also the 

 expanded ventrals) are kept folded against the sides until the fish's foreparts 

 leave the water. Then thev are spread. The long lower tail lobe leaves the 

 water last and gives the extra taxiing push (of V2 to 1 second duration) neces- 

 sary to add speed for a sustained glide. As the speed drops to 25 mph, the fish 

 either re-enters the water or dips its tail in for another push and another 

 glide. Single glides average 2 to 6 seconds and 40 to 50 yards but have been 

 observed lasting up to 10 seconds. The fish can bank by manipulating the 

 pectorals. Several single glides may be made together so that one flight may 

 cover a quarter of a mile or more. The pectorals may seem to vibrate but are not 

 flapped. Only one fish, the fresh-water hatchet fish, Gastropelecus, is known 

 to flap its pectorals in flight. 



Flying fishes eat all sorts of small surface-living invertebrates. Atlantic species 

 build nests for their eggs by binding floating Sargasso weed together. They "fly" 

 in order to escape their many enemies, particularly the dolphin, Coryphaena, 

 and the bonito, Katsiixvoniis. They are found in all tropical seas. 



SHORT-WINGED FLYING FISH: Parexocoetus viesogaster— Color Plate I 



Size: Up to 7 to 8 inches. 



Distrihiition: Cosmopolitan in warm seas. Straggles to Cape Cod in the Gulf 

 Stream. 



Identification: The "wings" are somewhat shorter than those of other species. 



Similar Species: The largest of all flying fishes and the one with the best 

 developed powers of flight is the Californian flying fish, Cypsehinis californiciis. 

 It reaches 18 inches in length and is found solely off southern California. 



Hemibranchs: Suborder Hemibranchi 



This group includes the sticklebacks and trumpet fishes. There are several 

 spines preceding the dorsal fin and the ventrals are abdominal. The families are 

 widespread over the world and are varied in habits. 



