Beautyfin Flyingfish

Body elongate, cylindrical, and thick; snout blunt, shorter than eye diameter; lower jaw slightly shorter than upper jaw and hidden by it; fins lacking spines; pectoral fins set high on body, extremely long, surpassing midpoint of dorsal fin; anal fin origin located behind dorsal fin origin by at least 3 or more rays; back iridescent blue green; belly yellowish white, pectoral fins with numerous, dark checkered spots (Ref. 55763).

Epipelagic in coastal waters. Capable of leaping and gliding considerable distances above the surface.

The ornamented flying fish, or beautyfin flying fish (Cypselurus callopterus), is a species of flying fish of the genus Cypselurus in the family Exocoetidae. The British ichthyologist Albert Günther first described it in 1866 in his eight-volume Catalogue of Fishes (1859–1870).