Flat needlefish

The flat needlefish (Ablennes hians), or barred longtom, the only known member of the genus Ablennes, is a marine fish of the family Belonidae. Flat needlefish are considered gamefish, frequently caught with the help of artificial lights, but are not often eaten because of their green-colored flesh.

The generic name Ablennes – formerly misspelled Athlennes – means 'without mucosity', from the ancient Greek privative a- prefix and blennos ('mucus').

Its specific name hians is Latin for "gaping".

Distribution

Flat needlefish are found worldwide in tropical and temperate seas. In the Eastern Atlantic, they are known from Cape Verde and Dakar to Moçamedes in Angola. In the western Atlantic, they are known from the Chesapeake Bay south to Brazil. They are found throughout the Indian Ocean, and in the western Pacific from the southern islands of Japan to Australia and Tuvalu. A few specimens have been collected from Syria to Israel in the Mediterranean Sea, likely migrants from the Red Sea.

Flat needlefish usually live in neritic ocean waters near islands, estuaries, and near coastal rivers, where they feed on smaller fish and occasionally gather in large schools.