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Garfish and Flying Fish
Appears in
Published 1981
The next order, Beloniformes, provides one species each in the families Scomberesocidae, Belonidae and Hxocoetidae. All the fish in this order are pelagic and of memorable appearance. Those listed are beaked or winged. There are also the half-beaks (not listed as they are rare in the Mediterranean) which have the lower but not the upper half of a beak.
Shoals of the skipper regularly visit British waters, and the garfish is also relatively common in British waters in the summer and early autumn. The flying fish, on the other hand, is unknown except possibly for stray and freak visits. North Americans have both Pacific and Atlantic saury, of which the latter is the same species as the Mediterranean one; many species of needlefish (garfish) and half-beaks; and a whole squadron of flying fish.