Tylosurus

Not to be confused with Tylosaurus.

Tylosurus is a genus of needlefish, one of ten in the family Belonidae. They are found worldwide in tropical and warmer temperate seas^[2] and two species have been recorded as Lessepsian migrants in the eastern Mediterranean Sea.^[3]

Tylosurus
Red Sea houndfish - T. choram
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Beloniformes
Family:	Belonidae
Genus:	Tylosurus Cocco, 1833
Type species
Tylosurus cantrainei Cocco, 1833[1]

Species

The seven currently recognized species in this genus are:^[4]

• Tylosurus acus (Lacepède, 1803)
  • T. a. acus (Lacépède, 1803) (Agujon needlefish)
  • T. a. imperialis (Rafinesque, 1810)
  • T. a. melanotus (Bleeker, 1850) (keel-jawed needlefish)
  • T. a. rafale Collette & Parin, 1970 (Atlantic agujon needlefish)
• Tylosurus choram (Rüppell, 1837) (Red Sea houndfish)
• Tylosurus crocodilus (Péron & Lesueur, 1821) (Houndfish)
• Tylosurus fodiator D. S. Jordan & C. H. Gilbert, 1882 (Mexican needlefish)
• Tylosurus gavialoides (Castelnau, 1873) (Stout long tom)
• Tylosurus pacificus (Steindachner, 1876) (Pacific agujon needlefish)
• Tylosurus punctulatus (Günther, 1872) (Spotted long tom)

Etymology

The generic name Tylosurus is a compound created from the Greek words tylos meaning a "callus" and oura meaning "tail", this refers to the keel like structures on the caudal peduncle of these fish.^[5]