Common Name
Hardhead Halfbeak
Year Described
Goode & Bean, 1882
Identification
Dorsal Fin: 15-18
Anal Fin: 15-17
Pectoral Fin: 12-14
Pelvic Fin: 6
Lateral Line: 51-55
Gill Rakers: 19-23 (first arch)
Vertebrae: 49-50
Lower jaw not elongate at any size. Pectoral fins short and tips are well short of pelvic fin base. Caudal fin with almost equal lobes.
Color
Body bright silvery with an olive back. Dark streaks or spots often present on scales. Lateral silvery stripe widens under dorsal fin. Fins not pigmented.
Size
Maximum size to 16.4cm TL.
Habitat
Found close to shore near the surface. Often occurs in low salinity estuaries.
Range
Found off S. Florida, the Bahamas, Cuba, and continental waters from the S. Gulf of Mexico to Belize.
References
Collette, B.B. 2002. Hemiramphidae (pp 1135-1144). In: Carpenter. 2002. The living marine resources of the Western Central Atlantic. Vol. 2: Bony fishes part 1 (Acipenseridae-Grammatidae). FAO Species Identification Guides for Fisheries Purposes. American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists Special Publication No. 5.
McEachran, J.D. and J.D. Fechhelm. 1998. Fishes of the Gulf of Mexico. Volume 1: Myxiniformes to Gasterosteiformes. University of Texas Press, Austin. i-viii + 1-1112.