Animalia Life

Strongylura exilis
FAMILY
Belonidae
TAXONOMY
Belone exilis Girard, 1854, San Diego, California.
OTHER COMMON NAMES
French: Aiguille de Californie; Spanish: Agujуn bravo de California.
PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS
Maximum length 35.8 in (91 cm). Very elongate, with long snout and sharp teeth. Emarginate caudal fin, no dorsal or anal fin spines.
DISTRIBUTION
Coastally from San Francisco to Peru; also in the Galбpagos.
HABITAT
Lagoons, harbors, and coastal areas. Frequents mangroves and enters freshwaters.
BEHAVIOR
Sometimes schools in large numbers, leaps out of the water when threatened.
FEEDING ECOLOGY AND DIET
Feeds on small fishes.
REPRODUCTIVE BIOLOGY
Eggs are attached to floating vegetation by means of long filaments; larvae drift in surface waters. The eggs are approximately 0.14 in (3.5 mm) in diameter and hatch in about two weeks. Larvae are 0.35–0.47 in (9–12 mm) at hatching.
CONSERVATION STATUS
Not threatened.
SIGNIFICANCE TO HUMANS
Sold fresh in fish markets. In very rare cases, may cause injury or death by impalement.

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