Sharpchin Flyingfish, Fodiator acutus
Sharpchin Flyingfish, Fodiator acutus. Fish provided by the commercial fishermen of Bahía Kino, Sonora, March 2015. Length: 17.0 cm (6.7 inches). Photograph and identification courtesy of Maria Johnson, Prescott College Kino Bay Center, Kino Bay, Sonora.
Sharpchin Flyingfish, Fodiator acutus. Fish caught from coastal waters off Loreto, Baja California Sur, August 2019. Length: 17.0 cm (6.7 inches). Catch and photograph courtesy of Chris Wheaton, Fullerton, California.
Sharpchin Flyingfish, Fodiator acutus. Fish caught from coastal waters off Loreto, Baja California Sur, November 2016. Length: 17.5 cm (6.9 inches). Catch and photograph courtesy of Chris Wheaton, Fullerton, California.
Sharpchin Flyingfish, Fodiator acutus. Fish provided by the commercial bait salesman of Puerto Los Cabos, Baja California Sur, June 2007. Length: 18.0 cm (7.1 inches).
Sharpchin Flyingfish, Fodiator acutus. Fish caught from coastal waters off Loreto, Baja California Sur, September 2024. Length: 18.4 cm (7.2 inches). Catch courtesy of Betto Davis, Loreto. Identification reconfirmed by Dr. Ross Robertson, Smithsonian Institute, Panama City, Panama.
The Sharpchin Flyingfish, Fodiator acutus, is a member of the Flyingfish or Exocoetidae Family, and is known in Mexico as volador picudo. Globally, this is only species in the genus Fodiator, and it is found in Mexican waters of the Pacific Ocean.
The Sharpchin Flyingfish has an elongated broadly cylindrical body. They are an iridescent blue color on their back and upper sides and silver ventrally with gray “wings”. Their dorsal fin is black and their anal and pelvic fins are transparent. In juveniles the pelvic fins have black tips and the 1st and last 5 of the 13 pectoral rays are transparent (black in adults). Juveniles do not have a chin barbel. Their head has a pointed snout that is longer than the width of the eyes and a protruding lower jaw. Their anal fin has 10 to 12 rays and is under the third dorsal ray; their caudal fin is deeply forked with a longer lower lobe; their dorsal fin has 9 or 10 ray; their pectoral fins are behind the dorsal fin origin and are relatively short for a flyingfish but they do reach the dorsal fin origin; and, their pelvic fins are short with the origin nearer the anal fin origin than the dorsal fin origin and do not reach the anal fin origin. They they are covered with large smooth scales. Their lateral line is low on the body and branched and reaches the pectoral fin base.
The Sharpchin Flyingfish is an oceanic pelagic species normally found on the surface to depths of 6 m (20 feet). They are occasionally found in coastal waters. They reach a maximum of 25.0 cm (9.8 inches) in length. They feed on planktonic organisms and small fish. In turn they are preyed upon by birds, dolphins, dorado, marlins, porpoises, squid, and tuna. They have large pectoral fins and are capable of leaping and gliding considerable distances above the ocean surface. Reproduction is oviparous with the release of large sticky filaments that attach to floating or benthic weeds. The Sharpchin Flyingfish is poorly studied with very limited information available about their lifestyle and behavioral patterns including specific details on age, growth, longevity, movement patterns, diet, habitat use, and reproduction.
The Sharpchin Flyingfish is a resident of all Mexican waters of the Pacific Ocean.
The Sharpchin Flyingfish is straightforward to identify among the flyingfish due to its unique head profile and cannot be confused with any other species.
From a conservation perspective the Sharpchin Flyingfish is currently considered to be of Least Concern with stable, widely distributed populations. They are small in stature small, seldom seen by humans, and of limited interest to most.