The eggs of this fish come with anchors.
Each one carries a set of long sticky filaments growing from its surface, and they do exactly what they look like they do: tangle. Spawning happens at the surface over shallow bays, and the eggs catch in drifting algae, in seagrass torn loose by weather, in floating weed and debris, and stay there. What would otherwise sink to the bottom and be eaten instead rides in the surface layer where the adults live.
That solves a problem specific to surface fish. There is nothing to attach to up there, and an egg released into open water is either eaten immediately or carried off to somewhere unsuitable. Flyingfish, which are close relatives, do the same thing more dramatically: their egg masses on floating weed are conspicuous enough to be harvested commercially in some parts of the world.
The adult is the largest halfbeak here, up to forty-five centimeters, with a row of dark blotches along the side and a lower jaw tipped in red. It hangs in small groups just under the surface of shallow bays and lagoons, grazing floating algae and seagrass fragments.
The genus. Hemiramphus Cuvier 1816 - hemi- (half) + rhamphus (beak). ETYFish
The species. Hemiramphus far (Forsskål 1775) - Arabic name for this fish. ETYFish
- row of dark blotches along the side, which the other halfbeaks here lack
- lower jaw red or tipped with red
- largest of the local halfbeaks, up to 45 cm
- in small groups just under the surface
