Longfin Halfbeak, Hemiramphus saltator

Longfin Halfbeak, Hemirampuhus saltator. Fish collected off the beach 3 miles north of Puerto Los Cabos, Baja California Sur, February 2004. Length 49 cm (19 inches). It had beached itself trying to avoid predation by a 11 kg (25 lbs) Dorado that waited patiently for its return to the ocean.

Longfin Halfbeak, Hemirampuhus saltator. Fish courtesy of the commercial fishermen of the greater Los Cabos area, Baja California Sur, January 2011. Length: 39 cm (15 inches).

The Longfin Halfbeak, Hemiramphus saltator, is a member of the Halfbeak or Hemiramphidae Family, and is also known as the Jumping Halfbeak and in Mexico as pajarito saltador. Globally, there are ten species in the genus Hemiramphus, of which three are found in Mexican waters, two in the Atlantic and one in the Pacific Ocean.

The Longfin Halfbeak has an elongated cylindrical slender body. They are silvery-blue dorsally, white ventrally, and silvery on their sides with dark fins. The tip of their lower jaw is red-orange. They have transparent fins with the exception of the caudal fin which is dusky. Their lower jaw extends into a relatively short beak that is 20% to 22% of body length and the upper jaw is short and triangular. They have no teeth. Their anal fin has 11 to 13 rays; their caudal fin is deeply forked with the lower lobe being larger than the upper lobe; their dorsal fin has 12 to 15 rays; their pectoral fins are mid-sized, located high on the sides, and reach past the nasal pit when folded forward; and, their pelvic fins are on the abdomen well back on the body. Their anal and dorsal fins are well back on the body with bases opposite each other. They have 25 to 32 gill rakers. Their lateral line is low on the body and they are covered with large smooth scales.

The Longfin Halfbeak is a pelagic species normally found in coastal waters on the surface to depths of 21 m (70 feet). They reach a maximum length of 55 cm (22 inches). They feed on small fish and plankton. In turn they are preyed upon by birds, dolphins, dorado, marlins, porpoises, squids, and tuna. Reproduction is oviparous with females releasing large eggs containing a sticky substance that allows the eggs to attach to floating debris. They can often be observed “fleeing” when chased by large inshore predators. The Longfin Halfbeak 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 Longfin Halfbeak is a resident of all Mexican waters of the Pacific with the exception that they are absent from Cedros Island, Baja California, northward along the central and northwest coasts of Baja.

The Longfin Halfbeak can be easily confused with the California Halfbeak, Hyporhamphus rosae (dark red lower bill), the Choelo Halfbeak, Hyporhamphus gilli (37 to 50 gill rakers), and the Pacific Silverstripe Halfbeak, Hyporhamphus naos (caudal fin modestly forked).

From a conservation perspective the Longfin Halfbeak is currently considered to be of Least Concern with stable, widely distributed populations. They are uncommon and of limited interest to most.