The Flying Fish- its unique features

Flying fish are thought to have evolved this remarkable gliding ability to escape predators, of which they have many. Their pursuers include mackerel, tuna, swordfish, marlin, and other larger fish. For their sustenance, flying fish feed on a variety of foods, including plankton.Flying Fish is a type of fish which during its normal swimming movement in water can occasionally take to aerial flight by jumping into the air and gliding horizontally. The distance thus covered is at times as long as four hundred metres. These fishes occur on both east and west coasts of India, but more on the south-west where they form a fishery in winter months. They belong to the family Exocoetidae. The species are recorded from Indian seas, of which three, Cypselurus altipennis, Exocoetus volitans, and Paraexocoetus brachypterus are common.

The aerial flights are undertaken usually to escape enemies or when alarmed by approaching ships. But sometimes they may be purposeful; probably to cover distances quickly while catching small pelagic fish for food.

There are at least 40 known species of flying fish. Beyond their useful pectoral fins, all have unevenly forked tails, with the lower lobe longer than the upper lobe. Many species have enlarged pelvic fins as well and are known as four-winged flying fish.

A flying fish does not fly, in the sense of flapping its wing-sized fins, but actually glides. The fish builds up speed underwater, swimming toward the surface with its fins folded tightly against its streamlined body. Upon breaking the surface, the fish spreads its enlarged fins and gains additional thrust from rapid beats of the still-submerged tail. When sufficient speed has been attained, the tail is lifted clear of the water and the fish is airborne, gliding a few feet above the surface at a speed of about 16 km/hr (10 miles per hour). The fish can make several consecutive glides, the tail propelling it up again each time it sinks back to the surface. The stronger fliers can span as much as 180 metres (600 feet) in a single glide, and compound glides, timed as long as 43 seconds, may cover 400 metres (1,300 feet).