Surely, many of you have repeatedly admired and marveled at the wonders of the living world. Sometimes it seems that nature made fun of many animals, birds and other creatures: mammals that lay eggs; viviparous reptiles; birds swimming underwater and … flying fish. In this article, we will talk specifically about our younger brothers, who successfully conquered not only the deep water, but also the space above it.
Flying Fish: Distribution Area
The family of these wonderful fish has more than sixty species that are found in all southern seas. The Indo-Ocean Region has forty species; twenty live in the Pacific and Atlantic Ocean. One of them can be found in the seas near Europe (up to the Scandinavian countries). In the waters washing the coast of Russia, Japanese flying fish is often caught.
general description
Despite the fact that this family is quite large, we note that all species of flying fish have certain characteristic similarities. So, they have a short jaw, and the pectoral fins are very large (commensurate with the length of the body). Since these fish live in the upper layers of the open sea, their back is colored dark and their abdomen silver-gray.
Fins are both variegated (bright blue, green, yellow), and monophonic. And of course, all of them are united by the ability to fly. Most likely, this feature has developed as a means of escape from predators. And it should be noted that many of them pretty well learned to “flutter” over the waters of the seas and oceans. Fishes with long pectoral fins soar much better and more perfect than their counterparts with short pectoral fins. During evolution, flying fish were divided into two-winged and four-winged. Two-winged animals use only pectoral fins during flight, which they have very large sizes. Their movement in the air can be compared with the flight of a monoplane. In “four-winged” fish, the four planes of the pectoral fins are a means of flight. The flight of such "sea flyers" is comparable to the flight of a biplane. Before breaking out of the water and “taking off”, the fish picks up speed and jumps out of the water, planning in free flight. She does not wave fins like wings, and cannot change the direction of soaring. The flight lasts up to forty seconds. Flying fish, basically, are combined into small schools, numbering only a few dozen individuals. But sometimes small groups come together in huge shoals. They feed on plankton, small crustaceans and small insects. Spawning occurs in each species at different times of the year, depending on the habitat. Before spawning, the fish make circular motions over the algae, and then release milk and caviar. A thin hair is attached to each egg, which, floating on the surface of the water, clings to all kinds of garbage: bird feathers, dead algae, branches, coconuts and even some jellyfish. This makes it possible not to spread eggs over long distances. Flying fish (the photo you see in the article) is an amazing creature. Below will be presented some representatives of this family.
Batfish
Batfish has two more names - it is a bat fish, or a shovel fish. She received so many names due to the shape of her body (it has a rounded shape and absolutely flat) and fins (in young individuals they are very developed and in appearance resemble the wings of mammals of the same name). The habitat is the waters of the Red Sea. The body of this small fish (as mentioned above) is round in shape, bright silver in color with dark stripes, and also very flat. They live in small flocks, from time to time rushing in search of food to the bottom of the sea.
And not so long ago an amazing fish was discovered in the waters of the Gulf of Mexico, which was also called the "bat." But she does not know how to fly at all, and moves along the ocean floor on four fins, very similar to the webbed wings of her namesake mammals. The appearance of this miracle of nature is no less surprising: a flattened body, large eyes, a huge snub nose and huge lips of bright red color. The body is covered with dark spots. Here is such a Pacific beauty. Perhaps later she will be given a different name.
Japanese flying fish
The second name is the Far Eastern long-winged. This fish has an elongated long body. The back is dark blue and wide enough, the abdomen is light silver. The fins are long, well developed. The size of the dinosaur is quite large - 36 cm. It lives in the Sea of Japan south of the island of Hokkaido. This is a heat-loving species, but sometimes swims in the waters of Primorye. Spawns along coastlines from April to October. It is a commercial fish, which is not only used in local cuisine, but also exported to other countries.
Atlantic flying fish
The second name is northern flying fish. This is the only representative of flying fish that swim in the seas of Europe. The color of this species is almost the same as that of Japanese relatives. Distinctive features: well-developed pectoral and ventral fins of light gray color, along which there is a transverse strip of white color.
The dorsal fin is much longer than the anal. Spawns from May to July. Long white threads stretch from the eggs on the surface of the water. Fry on the chin has a fringed tendril, which disappears over time. Atlantic flying fish is thermophilic, therefore it swims into the northern seas only in the summer months and remains there until the onset of cold weather.
Flying Sailor Fish
This is a very rare fish. It was first discovered in the waters of Peter the Great Bay in 2005. Her body is elongated, slightly flattened on the sides. The head is blunt in shape, four times smaller than the body. The pectoral fins are short and extend beyond the base of the dorsal fins. It should be noted that this fish was caught only once. Therefore, information about it is still very small.
Industrial value
Flying fish meat is very tasty, and therefore it is of great industrial importance. But not only meat, but also caviar. In Japanese national cuisine, caviar, which is given by flying fish (tobiko is its name), takes pride of place.
Many dishes cannot do without it. In addition to excellent taste, caviar and meat of flying fish are very useful. They contain about 30% protein; essential acids; phosphorus; potassium, necessary for the normal functioning of the heart and muscle system; vitamins D, C and A; all vitamins of group B. Therefore, this fish is recommended to eat for people who have had a serious illness, as well as for pregnant women and women engaged in heavy physical labor.
Tobiko caviar
Flying fish roe in Japan is called tobiko. It is widely used in national cuisine. Without it, cooking famous sushi, rolls and Japanese salads is not complete. The color of the caviar is bright orange. But you probably met on the supermarket shelves or in Japanese restaurants green or black tobiko caviar. This unusual color is achieved through the use of natural dyes, such as wasabi juice or cuttlefish ink.
Caviar of flying fish is somewhat dry, but the Japanese simply adore it and can eat with spoons without additives. In addition, it is very high in calories: 100 g of caviar contains 72 kcal. This is a valuable energy product, especially recommended for pregnant women and children. Processing technology has remained unchanged for over five hundred years. First, the caviar is soaked in a special sauce, and then stained or left with its natural color, which can be enhanced with ginger juice. Green caviar of flying fish, as well as other colors, comes to our shelves in the form of canned food. And it costs, by the way, not cheap. All over the world, this caviar is considered a delicacy. And if you decide to cook something from Japanese cuisine, the question is: “How much does flying fish caviar cost?” - will be very relevant for you. So, for a pound of red tobiko you will give about 700 rubles, and for a hundred grams of green caviar about 300 rubles.
