Common Name
Slender Halfbeak
Year Described
Valenciennes, 1847
Identification
Dorsal Fin: 14
Anal Fin: 15
Pectoral Fin:
Pelvic Fin: 6
Gill Rakers: 28-31 (lower limb of first arch)
Body relatively slender. Preorbital ridge present and snout covered in scales. Lower jaw elongate. Dorsal and anal fins without scales, or scales restricted to anterior part of fin. Pectoral fin relatively short: does not extend past nasal opening when depressed forward*. Caudal fin moderately forked, with lower lobe enlarged.
Color
Body silvery with a darker back. Lower jaw with a red tip.
Size
Maximum size to 18.6cm SL.
Habitat
Coastal inshore species in continental waters. Often in low salinity areas.
Range
From Belize to Colombia, and then from Venezuela to S. Brazil.
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.
Miller, R. R. 2006. Freshwater fishes of México. Chicago. University of Chicago Press. xxvi + 1-490.
Other Notes
There are two populations of this species: Hyporhamphus roberti roberti in the southern part of the range and H. roberti hildebrandi from Colombia north. The name H. kronei from Brazil is a synonym of this species.