Beloniformes  is an order composed of six families (and about 264 species) of freshwater and marine ray-finned fish:
Adrianichthyidae (ricefish and medakas)
Belonidae (needlefish)
Exocoetidae (flyingfishes)
Hemiramphidae (halfbeaks)
Scomberesocidae (sauries)
Zenarchopteridae (viviparous halfbeaks)
With the exception of the Adrianichthyidae, these are streamlined, medium-sized fishes that live close to the surface of the water, feeding on algae, plankton, or smaller animals including other fishes.
Most are marine, though a few needlefish and halfbeaks inhabit brackish and fresh waters.Helfman G., Collette B., & Facey D.: The Diversity of Fishes, Blackwell Publishing, pp 274-276, 1997,
The order is sometimes divided up into two suborders, the Adrianichthyoidei and the Belonoidei, although this clade is referred to as Exocoetoidei in the 5th edition of Fishes of the World.
The Adrianichthyoidei contain only a single family, the Adrianichthyidae.
Originally, the Adrianichthyidae were included in the Cyprinidontiformes and assumed to be closely related to the killifish, but a closer relationship to the beloniforms is indicated by various characteristics including the absence of the interhyal, resulting in the upper jaw being fixed or not protrusible.
The Belonoidei may also be further subdivided into two superfamilies, the Scomberesocoidea and the Exocoetoidea.
The Scomberesocoidea contain the Belonidae and Scomberesocidae, while the Exocoetoidea comprise the Exocoetidae, Hemiramphidae and Zenarchopteridae.
However, newer evidence shows the flyingfishes are nested within the halfbeaks, and the needlefish and sauries are nested within the subfamily Zenarchopterinae of the family Hemiramphidae, which has been recognized as its own family.
The sauries are also nested within the family Belonidae.
The beloniforms display an interesting array of jaw morphologies.
The basal condition in the order excluding the ricefishes is an elongated lower jaw in juveniles and adults as represented in halfbeaks.
In the needlefish and sauries, both jaws are elongated in the adults; the juveniles of most species develop through a "halfbeak stage" before having both jaws elongated.
The elongated lower jaw is lost in adults and is lost in most juveniles in the flyingfishes and some halfbeak genera.
They are known for many commercial uses, and have about 260 different species.
Beloniformes lack a complete sequence of mitogenomes.
This leads to many variations in mtDNA, about 35 different ones.
To understand evolution for Beloniformes and to identify the larvae, scientists will use Beloniformes to help them study this.
Timeline of genera
ImageSize  = width:1000px height:auto barincrement:15px PlotArea   = left:10px bottom:50px top:10px right:10px
Period      = from:-145.5 till:15 TimeAxis    = orientation:horizontal ScaleMajor  = unit:year increment:10 start:-145.5 ScaleMinor  = unit:year increment:1 start:-145.5 TimeAxis    = orientation:hor AlignBars   = justify
Colors =  #legends   id:CAR	  value:claret   id:ANK 	 value:rgb(0.4,0.3,0.196)   id:HER	  value:teal   id:HAD	  value:green   id:OMN	  value:blue   id:black        value:black   id:white        value:white   id:cretaceous   value:rgb(0.5,0.78,0.31)   id:earlycretaceous   value:rgb(0.63,0.78,0.65)   id:latecretaceous   value:rgb(0.74,0.82,0.37)   id:cenozoic     value:rgb(0.54,0.54,0.258)   id:paleogene     value:rgb(0.99,0.6,0.32)    id:paleocene     value:rgb(0.99,0.65,0.37)    id:eocene     value:rgb(0.99,0.71,0.42)    id:oligocene     value:rgb(0.99,0.75,0.48)    id:neogene     value:rgb(0.999999,0.9,0.1)    id:miocene     value:rgb(0.999999,0.999999,0)    id:pliocene     value:rgb(0.97,0.98,0.68)     id:quaternary   value:rgb(0.98,0.98,0.5)   id:pleistocene   value:rgb(0.999999,0.95,0.68)   id:holocene   value:rgb(0.999,0.95,0.88)
BarData=  bar:eratop  bar:space  bar:periodtop  bar:space  bar:NAM1  bar:NAM2  bar:NAM3  bar:NAM4  bar:NAM5  bar:NAM6  bar:NAM7  bar:NAM8  bar:NAM9
bar:space  bar:period  bar:space  bar:era
PlotData=  align:center textcolor:black fontsize:M mark:(line,black) width:25   shift:(7,-4)
bar:periodtop  from: -145.5    till: -99.6    color:earlycretaceous    text:[[Early Cretaceous|Early]]  from: -99.6    till: -65.5    color:latecretaceous    text:[[Late Cretaceous|Late]]  from: -65.5   till:  -55.8    color:paleocene  text:[[Paleocene|Paleo.]]  from: -55.8   till:  -33.9    color:eocene  text:[[Eocene|Eo.]]   from: -33.9   till:  -23.03    color:oligocene  text:[[Oligocene|Oligo.]]              from: -23.03    till: -5.332    color:miocene    text:[[Miocene|Mio.]]  from: -5.332    till: -2.588    color:pliocene    text:[[Pliocene|Pl.]]  from: -2.588    till: -0.0117   color:pleistocene    text:[[Pleistocene|Pl.]]  from: -0.0117    till: 0    color:holocene    text:[[Holocene|H.]]
bar:eratop  from: -145.5    till: -65.5   color:cretaceous    text:[[Cretaceous]]  from: -65.5   till:  -23.03    color:paleogene  text:[[Paleogene]]           from: -23.03    till: -2.588    color:neogene    text:[[Neogene]]  from: -2.588    till: 0   color:quaternary    text:[[Quaternary|Q.]]
PlotData=  align:left fontsize:M mark:(line,white) width:5 anchor:till align:left
color:latecretaceous bar:NAM1  from:-70.6    till:-65.5 text:[[Hemilampronites]]  color:eocene bar:NAM2  from:-55.8    till:-33.9 text:[[Xiphopterus]]  color:eocene bar:NAM3  from:-55.8    till:0 text:[[Hemirhamphus]]  color:eocene bar:NAM4 from:-48.6    till:-37.2 text:[[Rhamphexocoetus]]  color:oligocene bar:NAM5 from:-33.9    till:0 text:[[Belone]]  color:oligocene bar:NAM6 from:-33.9    till:0 text:[[Cobitopsis]]  color:miocene bar:NAM7 from:-11.608    till:0 text:[[Euleptorhamphus]]  color:miocene bar:NAM8  from:-11.608    till:0 text:[[Hyporhamphus]]  color:miocene bar:NAM9  from:-11.608    till:0 text:[[Scomberesox]]
PlotData=  align:center textcolor:black fontsize:M mark:(line,black) width:25
bar:period  from: -145.5    till: -99.6    color:earlycretaceous    text:[[Early Cretaceous|Early]]  from: -99.6    till: -65.5    color:latecretaceous    text:[[Late Cretaceous|Late]]  from: -65.5   till:  -55.8    color:paleocene  text:[[Paleocene|Paleo.]]  from: -55.8   till:  -33.9    color:eocene  text:[[Eocene|Eo.]]   from: -33.9   till:  -23.03    color:oligocene  text:[[Oligocene|Oligo.]]              from: -23.03    till: -5.332    color:miocene    text:[[Miocene|Mio.]]  from: -5.332    till: -2.588    color:pliocene    text:[[Pliocene|Pl.]]  from: -2.588    till: -0.0117   color:pleistocene    text:[[Pleistocene|Pl.]]  from: -0.0117    till: 0    color:holocene    text:[[Holocene|H.]]
bar:era  from: -145.5    till: -65.5   color:cretaceous    text:[[Cretaceous]]  from: -65.5   till:  -23.03    color:paleogene  text:[[Paleogene]]           from: -23.03    till: -2.588    color:neogene    text:[[Neogene]]  from: -2.588    till: 0   color:quaternary    text:[[Quaternary|Q.]]
References
External links
