Family HEMIRAMPHIDAE

Hemiramphidae

© Copyright Ros Poole.

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Introduction

Members of the Hemiramphidae are known from all major oceans. At least 112 species in 13 genera are recognised worldwide (Nelson 2006), including 19 species in seven genera from Australian waters.

Garfishes are primarily marine, although a number enter estuaries and a few enter fresh water. They are herbivores, primarily grazing on seagrass and green algae; the small proportion of invertebrates found among gut contents may be ingested accidentally. Garfishes are distinguished by having an elongate lower jaw and a short upper jaw, which is found in all species except the snub-nosed garfishes of the genus Arrhamphus. The family is of some commercial importance in Australia as food and bait fish. The maximum length is about 45 cm.

The garfishes or halfbeaks have not been revised on a worldwide basis. Meisner & Collette (1999) discussed relationships of Zenarchopterus and relatives, all of which have internal fertilisation. Collette (1974) revised the species from Australia and New Zealand. Dasilao et al. (1997) placed Oxyporhamphus, which is usually included here, in the family Exocoetidae based on caudal fin morphology. Nelson (2006) also placed Oxyporhamphus, in its own subfamily, in Exocoetidae. However, we follow Lovejoy et al. (2004) Lewallen et al. (2011) and Nelson et al. (2016) in retaining Oxyporhamphus in the Hemiramphidae. Lovejoy et al. (2004) also recognised the Zenarchopteridae as distinct from the Hemiramphidae, which we have not followed here. Nelson et al 2016 separated the two groups into separate famlies. Tropical Australian species are treated by Collette (1999).

General References

Collette, B.B. 1974. The garfishes (Hemiramphidae) of Australia and New Zealand. Records of the Australian Museum 29(2): 11-105 figs 1-23

Collette, B.B. 1999. Family Hemiramphidae. pp. 2180-2196 in Carpenter, K.E. & Niem, T.H. (eds). The Living Marine Resources of the Western Central Pacific. FAO Species Identification Guide for Fisheries Purposes. Rome : FAO Vol. 4 pp. 2069-2790.

Collette, B.B. 2004. Family Hemiramphidae Gill 1859 — halfbeaks. California Academy of Sciences Annotated Checklists of Fishes 22: 1-35

Dasilao, J.C., Sasaki, K. & Okamura, O. 1997. The hemiramphid, Oxyporhamphus, is a flying fish (Exocoetidae). Ichthyological Research 44(2): 101-107

Lewallen, E.A., Pitman, R.L., Kjartanson, S.L. & Lovejoy, N.R. 2011. Molecular systematics of flyingfishes (Teleostei: Exocoetidae): evolution in the epipelagic zone. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 102: 161–174

Lovejoy, N.R., Iranpour, H. & Collette, B.B. 2004. Phylogeny and jaw ontogeny of beloniform fishes. Integrative and Comparative Biology 44: 366-377

Meisner, A.D. & Collette, B.B. 1999. Generic relationships of the internally-fertilized southeast asian halfbeaks (Hemiramphidae: Zenarchopterinae). pp. 69-76 in Séret, B. & Sire, J.-Y. (eds). Proceedings of the 5th Indo-Pacific Fish Conference, Nouméa, 3-8 November 1997. Paris : Société Française d'Ichtyologie 888 pp.

Nelson, J.S. 2006. Fishes of the World. Hoboken, New Jersey : John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 601 pp.

Nelson, J.S., Grande, T.C. & Wilson, M.V.H. 2016. Fishes of the World. Hoboken, New Jersey : John Wiley & Sons 5, 752 pp.

Common Name References

Allen, G.R., Midgley, S.H. & Allen, M. 2002. Field Guide to the Freshwater Fishes of Australia. Perth : Western Australian Museum 394 pp. [120] (Halfbeaks)

Collette, B.B. 1999. Family Hemiramphidae. pp. 2180-2196 in Carpenter, K.E. & Niem, T.H. (eds). The Living Marine Resources of the Western Central Pacific. FAO Species Identification Guide for Fisheries Purposes. Rome : FAO Vol. 4 pp. 2069-2790. (FAO) (Garfishes, Halfbeaks)

Kuiter, R.H. 1993. Coastal Fishes of South-eastern Australia. Bathurst : Crawford House Press 437 pp. [63] (Garfishes)

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