Needlefish

Common name for a kind of a slender fish in the family Belonidae, of which there are several species, some marine dwellers, others residing in freshwater, and some living in brackish water, while certain species travel up and down all of the aforementioned habitats. It primarily lives at the surface of the water and is often protectively coloured for this mode, in marine dwelling species usually by being greenish-blue on the back, with a silvery white belly and lower sides (fig.). Some species have markings along the side, typically dark spots or a dusky or dark blue stripe. They have large eyes and the fleshy tip of the lower jaw is frequently pinkish-red to orangey. Needlefishes feed mainly on small fish which they catch sideways in their narrow dolphin-like beaks, that are filled with sharp teeth. They tend to skitter at the surface and leap out of the water at high speed, especially when hunting, and people are known to have been injured and even killed when accidently struck by them. In Thai known as pla krathung hew (ปลากระทุงเหว), and in Vietnamese as cá nhói. 回