Fish of the Parexocoetus genus of the Exocoetidae (flying fish) family of the Exocoetoidea superfamily of the Belonoidei suborder of the Beloniformes order of the Acanthopterygii superorder.
(African sailfin flyingfish. Photo © zukan.com)
African sailfin flyingfish (Parexocoetus mento) was first described in 1847 by the French zoologist and ichthyologist Achille Valenciennes (1794-1865).
It is a pelagic coastal schooling species. It inhabits the surface waters, usually no deeper than 20 meters. The maximum recorded length is 13 cm. It feeds on plankton and small crustaceans.
It is a rare species in the Adriatic that swam to the Mediterranean Sea through the Suez Canal.
Names of African sailfin flyingfish (Parexocoetus mento) in other languages are as follows:
Χελιδονόψαρο Aφρικής (Helidonopsaro Afrikis) (Greek), Schwalbenfisch (German), Евразийский короткокрыл (Evraziyskyi korotkokryl) (Russian), Afrička poletuša (Serbian, Croatian), Uçankefal balığı (Turkish), Exocet voilier africain (French).