Flying Fish Research Paper

The fish family Exocoetidae can be found in the order Beloniformes and class Actinopterygii. One of the common name of the family Exocoetidae is flying fish. Exocoetidae contain 64 species and is group into seven genera. The seven genera name are Cheilopogon, Cypselurus, Exocoetus, Fodiator, Hirundichthys, Parexocoetus, and Prognichthys. The reason Exocoetidae get the name flying fish is its ability to glide through the air. The oldest fossil that a person has found of Exocoetidae is Potanichthys xingyiensis. The fossil is dated back to the Middle Triassic about 235-242 million years ago. Today flying fish evolved independently from Potanichthys xingyiensis about 66 million years ago. Exocoetidae is marine fish that found in all the oceans, …show more content…
The three papers are about the body shape and fins shape that allow the Exocoetidae to glide through the air. In the article “Wing-loading, stability and morphometric relationships in flying fish (Exocoetidae) from the North-eastern Atlantic” written by J. Dasilao et al talk about how the shape of the body the and the use of the tail help will fly. They use Parexocoeus mento mento as the main subject in the study. In the study, they learn that different Exocoetidae species have different growth rate. Parexocoeus mento mento which is known as two-winged achieved by swimming fast just below the water surface before going upward. The P. mento mento may be the smallest and worst at flying it have adapted to be ability to fly well. This showed how the head is narrow than the other species of Exocoetidae. In the article, “Wing-loading, stability and morphometric relationships in flying fish (Exocoetidae) from the North-eastern Atlantic” by John Davenport talk about how four-winged flying fish growth in different size than two-winged ones. The study goes into details on how the pectoral fins must not be greater than 78-79% of the standard length or it will affect the swimming ability. The study show that Exocoetidae with both pectoral and pelvic fins are hypertrophied need more body sizes to stable themselves during flight. The wing load is also affect by the speed the fish is going with the faster it is the more the load. The centre of gravity is important part of the ability the let Exocoetidae to fly. The position of the fins and shape of the fish play a part in it. In the study, Davenport found that the main reason Oxyporhamphus micropterus is not able to fly is because the