Puerto Rico country information

Common names: Keeltail needlefish
Occurrence: native
Salinity: marine
Abundance: | Ref:
Importance: | Ref:
Aquaculture: | Ref:
Regulations: | Ref:
Uses: no uses
Comments: Also Ref. 3129.
National Checklist:
Country Information: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/resources/the-world-factbook/geos/rq.html
National Fisheries Authority:
Occurrences: Occurrences Point map
Main Ref: Martin, F.D. and J.W. Patus, 1984
National Database:

Common names from other countries

Orphie carénée, Agujón de quilla, Keeled needlefish, ... more

Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes(genus, species) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa

Teleostei (teleosts) > Beloniformes (Needle fishes) > Belonidae (Needlefishes)
Etymology: Platybelone: Greek, platys = flat + Greek, belone = needle; any fish with sharp pointed snout; also Pierre Belon, 1517-64, French zoologist born in Le Mans. Professor at the College de France, author of " La nature et diversité des poissons", 1551 (Ref. 45335).
More on author: Lesueur.

Issue
The 4 subspecies were upraised at species rank, as provisionally accepted names, , until more works are conducted on P. argalus susbepcies to fix their status.

Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range Ecology

Marine; reef-associated; depth range 0 - ? m, usually 0 - 2 m (Ref. 40849). Subtropical; 37°N - 29°S, 98°W - 34°W

Distribution Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Point map | Introductions | Faunafri

Western Atlantic: North Carolina, USA to Brazil (Ref. 7251), including the Bahamas, Gulf of Mexico, and Caribbean Sea.

Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: L_m ? range ? - ? cm
Max length : 50.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 26340); common length : 35.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 5217)

Short description Morphology | Morphometrics

Dorsal soft rays (total): 12-15; Anal soft rays: 17 - 20. Gill rakers present; caudal peduncle with a lateral keel, the lateral line passing ventral to it.

Occurs offshore; particularly abundant around islands (Ref. 5217); schools in sheltered parts of the reef (Ref. 48635). Feeds mainly on small fishes. Oviparous (Ref. 205). Eggs may be found attached to objects in the water by tendrils on the egg's surface (Ref. 205).

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae

Main reference Upload your references | References | Coordinator : Collette, Bruce B. | Collaborators

Böhlke, J.E. and C.C.G. Chaplin, 1993. Fishes of the Bahamas and adjacent tropical waters. 2nd edition. University of Texas Press, Austin. (Ref. 5521)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435)

Least Concern (LC) ; Date assessed: 29 January 2009

CITES (Ref. 128078)

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

Harmless

Human uses

Fisheries: subsistence fisheries

FAO(Publication : search) | FishSource |

More information

Countries
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Ecology
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Common names
Synonyms
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Predators
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Reproduction
Maturity
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Fecundity
Eggs
Egg development

Age/Size
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Length-weight
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Morphometrics
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References
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Check for Aquarium maintenance | Check for Species Fact Sheets | Check for Aquaculture Fact Sheets

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Summary page | Point data | Common names | Photos

Internet sources

Estimates based on models

Preferred temperature (Ref. 115969): 25.1 - 28.2, mean 27.4 (based on 619 cells).

Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82804): PD₅₀ = 0.7500 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].

Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00112 (0.00043 - 0.00289), b=3.04 (2.81 - 3.27), in cm Total Length, based on LWR estimates for this (Sub)family-body shape (Ref. 93245).

Trophic level (Ref. 69278): 4.5 ±0.8 se; based on diet studies.

Resilience (Ref. 120179): High, minimum population doubling time less than 15 months (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).

Fishing Vulnerability (Ref. 59153): Moderate vulnerability (40 of 100).

Price category (Ref. 80766): High.

Platybelone argalus (Lesueur, 1821)