One of nature’s most fascinating creatures are flying fish. These unusual fish are renowned for their amazing ability to appear to be flying by jumping out of the water and gliding through the air. They have an incredible adaptation that helps them avoid being eaten by marine predators.
Flying fish have long, wing-like fins that allow them to glide up to 200 meters in a single glide. Despite not being able to fly like birds, they are unique among animals because of their strong leaps and long glides. They skillfully blend moments in the sky with marine life, making them a sight to behold.
This extraordinary demonstration of the diversity and adaptability of marine life is also a defense mechanism. Let’s examine in more detail what makes these fish unique.
Scientific classification
- Kingdom: Animalia (animals)
- Type: Chordata (chordates)
- Class: Actinopterygii (ray-finned fish)
- Order: Beloniformes (garfish)
- Family: Exocoetidae (flying fish)
Seven genera and four subfamilies comprise the 69 recognized species that make up the Exocoetidae family.
Appearance on Earth
Picture courtesy of the World History Encyclopedia
Potanichthys xingyiensis, the flying fish, has the oldest known fossil, which was found in China and dates to the middle Triassic period, or 235-242 million years ago. Nevertheless, research has shown that this fossil is unrelated to contemporary flying fish species, which separately evolved some 65 million years ago.
Characteristic features
Anatomical features
The flying fish’s unusually large, wide, and high-set pectoral fins, which enable it to glide over the water’s surface, are its most defining characteristic. They have a torpedo-like body form, and their tail fin enables them to reach extremely fast underwater speeds.
Images via Wikimedia Commons
Fish that can fly can glide quickly through the water, a process that causes their pectoral fins to grow into what resembles wings. They have forked tail fins that aid in flight in addition to their incredibly helpful pectoral fins, the lower portion of which is longer than the upper. Additionally, many species have large pelvic fins with six rays that help with stability when flying. A large amount of the dorsal fin’s 12–14 rays are pushed back.
Exocoetus flying fish are dipterans that are characterized by having a single pair of fins and a streamlined body form. They fly quite quickly. In addition, two pairs of fins and a flattened silhouette enable members of the genus Cypselurus, or swifttails, to spend as much time in the air as possible. Some varieties of podators, or fodiator acutus, have blunt noses, while others have sharp snouts and a projecting lower jaw.
Color
The characteristic contrasting color pattern of flying fish gives them camouflage, making them undetectable to predators and prey. They have light underneath and a dark bluish-green top. The pectoral fins of most species are transparent, blue, green, or brown. Some possess pigmented pectoral fins, exhibiting a light background with small mottled spots or a dark transverse stripe.
Size
Traditionally, flying fish are classified as either dipterans or tetraptera. While tetraptera typically reach lengths of 38 cm, dipterans species typically reach lengths of 15 to 30 cm. With a length of 48 cm, the California flying fish (Cypselurus californicus) is the largest member of the second group.
- Body length: 15-48 cm (average 17-30 cm)
- Body weight: 0.9-1 kg
Habitat
Most flying fish inhabit tropical and subtropical regions, where the average annual temperature seldom falls below 20 °C. In the open waters of the Pacific (up to 20 species), Atlantic (16 species), and Indian (more than 40 species) oceans, the majority of species are common. Certain species can only be found in close proximity to coasts and islands. The Mediterranean Sea contains four species of flying fish, while the Red Sea has seven.
A common feature of some members of this family is their summertime migration to the English Channel shores and the southern coastal regions of Norway and Denmark. During the remaining periods, flying fish congregate in small groups.
Famous for their extraordinary capacity to glide over the water’s surface in order to elude predators, flying fish are an amazing example of nature’s wonders. They can leap and soar for great distances using their large, wing-like fins, fusing the sea and sky in an amazing show of adaptation and survival.
Flight and swimming
A natural defense against flying and aquatic predators are wings. A flying fish will spread its pectoral and caudal fins and leap out of the water when it senses danger. Flying fish, with their fins outstretched, cover several dozen meters before folding them and either returning under the water or bouncing off its surface. To extend their flight or change direction, they frequently strike the water with their lower caudal fin.
Fish can fly straight or at an angle, but they eventually give in to the increasing wind currents created by the combination of atmospheric air and sea currents because of their aerodynamic shape, which is very similar to that of a bird’s wings. The pelvic and pectoral fins are pressed against the body when swimming.
Different species of flying fish have varied degrees of development in their gliding abilities. The fish’s anatomical characteristics, specifically its size and number of fins, determine its flight range and duration. Fish with two wings have an advantage over species that rely on pectoral and pelvic fins for propulsion. Furthermore, in the range of flight, species with longer fins can readily outpace those with shorter fins.
- Maximum gliding speed: 80 km/h
- Maximum flying height above the water surface: 6 meters
- Maximum flight length: about 200 meters (two-winged species); about 400 meters (four-winged species)
Feeding habits
Flying fish are not found in deep waters; instead, they spend almost all of their time swimming just below the surface of the water, giving them the ability to swiftly surface in the event of an unprovoked attack. Their primary food sources are the abundant crustaceans and zooplankton found in the uppermost layers of the World Ocean. Since they also consume plants and small animals, flying fish are categorized as omnivores. Certain species even go after pteropods and tiny fish. They may then fall prey to octopuses, dolphins, marlins, porpoises, and tuna.
Reproduction
The breeding season peaks in June, and the mating season typically starts in December. Huge schools have frequently been seen during the mating season; on occasion, the colony’s size has exceeded one million members.
In the open ocean, flying fish frequently lay their eggs amid algae and other aquatic plants. Typically, the large reddish eggs measure up to 0.8 mm in diameter. Their long, sticky fibers are used to attach the eggs to the plants. The young frequently conceal themselves beneath floating debris and algae.
Importance for people
Commercial fishing is conducted for this unique fish in China, Vietnam, India, Indonesia, and Japan.
Image courtesy of Stocksy United
Fish is frequently eaten dry in Japanese cooking, and some sushi varieties known as "tobiko" contain the roe of the Far Eastern longwing (Cheilopogon agoo). The Austronesian Tao people of Orchid Island, which is close to Taiwan, eat this fish’s roe as a staple food. The primary ingredient in Barbados’ national dish, "ku-ku," is flying fish.
In the Solomon Islands, outrigger-equipped, powerful canoes are used to hold special nets that are used to catch flying fish while they hover. Since a lantern’s light makes the best bait for them, fishing is only done on moonless nights.
| Feature | Description |
| Unique ability | Flying fish can glide over water, using their fins like wings to escape predators. |
| Habitat | They live in warm ocean waters, mostly near the surface where they find food and avoid danger. |
| Size | Flying fish are generally small, ranging from 7 to 12 inches in length. |
| Diet | They feed on plankton, small insects, and other tiny sea creatures. |
One amazing illustration of the amazing diversity found in nature are flying fish. In addition to helping them avoid predators, their exceptional ability to glide over the water awes anyone who sees this amazing feat.
These fish serve as a reminder of the creative and unexpected ways that life adapts in order to survive and flourish. Even though it is brief, their flight across the air demonstrates the marvels of evolution and the limitless possibilities found in the animal kingdom.
We can better appreciate the intricacy of marine life and the beauty of the surrounding environment when we have a greater understanding of flying fish.
Related videos
flying miracle of nature.
Flying fish
Amazing fish that can FLY
Flying fish
