Chordata · chordates

Atlantic needlefish

Strongylura marina

Belonidae · needlefishesIUCN: Least Concern
Atlantic needlefish
Photo: SEFSC Pascagoula Laboratory; Collection of Brandi Noble, NOAA/NMFS/SEFSC. · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons · resized

A slender, beak-jawed fish that cruises just below the surface of bays and marshes.

Fun factIts bones are bright green.

Waters
Northeast US, Northwest Atlantic, Tropical Atlantic & Caribbean
Depth zone
Coastal shallows & estuaries
Diet
Small fish
Size
Up to 1.1 m

Classification

Chordata › Actinopterygii › Beloniformes › Belonidae

  1. Kingdom Animalia animals
    • Many-celled organisms that eat other living things for energy (heterotrophs)
    • Cells have no cell walls
    • Most can move at some stage of life
  2. Clade Bilateria bilateral animals
    • Body has a left and right side that mirror each other (bilateral symmetry)
    • Head end with concentrated nerves; three tissue layers
    • Includes about 99% of all living animal species
  3. Clade Deuterostomia deuterostomes
    • In the embryo, the first opening becomes the anus and the mouth forms second
    • Includes echinoderms and chordates
  4. Phylum Chordata chordates
    • At some stage of life: a stiffening rod along the back (notochord)
    • A hollow nerve cord along the back (dorsal)
    • Slits in the throat (pharyngeal slits) and a tail past the anus
  5. Subphylum Vertebrata vertebrates
    • A skull (cranium) protecting a brain
    • Backbone or similar support around the nerve cord
    • Includes fishes, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals
  6. Infraphylum Gnathostomata jawed vertebrates
    • Jawed vertebrates: jaws formed from gill arches
    • Paired fins or limbs
    • Includes all fishes except hagfish and lampreys, plus all tetrapods
  7. Superclass Osteichthyes bony vertebrates
    • Bony vertebrates: skeleton made largely of bone
    • Most have a lung or swim bladder
    • Includes ray-finned and lobe-finned fishes and all tetrapods
  8. Class Actinopterygii ray-finned fishes
    • Ray-finned fishes: fins are webs of skin held up by thin bony rays
    • Usually a gas-filled swim bladder for buoyancy
    • About half of all vertebrate species
  9. Infraclass Teleostei teleost fishes
    • Teleosts: symmetrical tail fin
    • Jaws that can push forward to grab prey (protrusible)
    • About 96% of all living fishes
  10. Cohort Euteleostei salmon, cod, perch & kin
    • A huge group that includes salmon, cod, and all spiny-finned fishes
  11. Clade Acanthomorpha spiny-rayed fishes
    • Spiny-rayed fishes: true spines in the front of the fins
    • Includes most familiar marine fishes
  12. Superorder Acanthopterygii spiny-finned fishes
    • Spiny-finned fishes: sharp spines in the front of the dorsal and anal fins
    • Pelvic fins usually under the pectoral fins
  13. Clade Percomorpha perch-like fishes
    • The perch-like fishes: the largest group of vertebrates
    • Pelvic fins with one spine and five rays (in most)
  14. Clade Ovalentaria damselfishes, mullets & kin
    • A large group whose members often lay sticky, attached eggs
    • Includes damselfishes, silversides, and killifishes
  15. Order Beloniformes flyingfishes & needlefishes
    • Flyingfishes and needlefishes: fins set far back near the tail
  16. Family Belonidae needlefishes
    • Needlefishes: long, beak-like jaws full of teeth
  17. Genus Strongylura
    • Species in the same genus are very close relatives and often look alike.
  18. Species Strongylura marina Atlantic needlefish

Closest relatives in the guide