mangrove fishes: surface fishes

CONTENTS

Fauna index

Vertebrates: Fish

Peter K L Ng and N Sivasothi (editors)

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5

Fishes near the surface

There are many fishes near the water surface which can easily be missed unless one looks very carefully.

	Seen from above, a Spot-tail needlefish (black arrow) hovers among a group of Striped-nosed halfbeaks. The halfbeaks (white arrow) are characterised by the shiny white tips of their lower jaws.
	Spot-tail needlefish Strongylura strongylura	Preserved specimen
	Family Belonidae Size: up to 46 cm Usually seen alone or in pairs, the green-coloured Spot-tail needlefish, is a predator of small, surface-dwelling fish. It has a slender body and a pair of long iaws with sharp teeth.

Striped-nose halfbeaks
Zenarchopterus buffonis
Family Hemiramphidae

Size: up to 23 cm

The similar-looking halfbeaks differ in having a considerably shorter upper jaw. When viewed from the top, the elongate lower jaw of the Striped-nosed halfbeak is tipped with white. It seems to feed largely on insects that fall onto the water.

Whitespot
Aplocheilus panchax
Family Adrianichthyidae
Size: 6 cm

The Whitespot has a distinct white spot on top of its head.

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What is mangrove?
Introduction

The Ecosystem
Abiotic
Biotic

Value
Intro
Products
Indirect uses
Potential uses

About Mangroves
in Singapore
History
Mangroves to visit
Conservation

From "A Guide to Mangroves of Singapore", Peter K. L. Ng and N. Sivasothi (editors)
Volume 1: The Ecosystem and Plant Diversity and Volume 2: Animal Diversity
Authors: Kelvin K. P. Lim, Dennis H. Murphy, T. Morgany, N. Sivasothi, Peter K. L. Ng,
B. C. Soong, Hugh T. W. Tan, K. S. Tan & T. K. Tan
BP Guide to Nature Series published by the Singapore Science Centre, sponsored by British Petroleum
© 2001 Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research, The National University of Singapore & The Singapore Science Centre