Hyporhamphus meeki Banford & Collette, 1993
American halfbeak
photo by NOAA\NMFS\Mississippi Laboratory

Family:  Hemiramphidae (Halfbeaks)
Max. size:  20.9 cm SL (male/unsexed)
Environment:  pelagic-neritic; freshwater; brackish; marine; depth range - 0 m
Distribution:  Western Atlantic: Massachusetts, USA and throughout the Gulf of Mexico to Yucatán, Mexico.
Diagnosis:  Dorsal spines (total): 0-0; Dorsal soft rays (total): 12-17; Anal spines: 0-0; Anal soft rays: 14-18. Tan green dorsally, silvery laterally, fleshy tip of lower jaw red (Ref. 27549).
Biology:  Found inshore, over sandy, vegetated areas (Ref. 27549). Schooling species (Ref. 27549). Feeds on algae and small organisms (Ref. 27549). Used as baitfish where abundant (Ref. 27549). Caught with dip nets (Ref. 27549).
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC); Date assessed: 18 January 2019 Ref. (130435)
Threat to humans:  harmless


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