Slender Longtom, Strongylura leiurus (Bleeker 1851)
Other Names: Common Longtom, Hornpike Long Tom, Hornpike Long-tom, Slender Long-tom, Yellowfin Needlefish
Slender Longtom, Strongylura leiura. Source: Rudie H. Kuiter / Aquatic Photographics. License: All rights reserved
Summary:
A greenish to bluish-green needlefish becoming silvery-white on the sides and below, with a black bar on the cheek.
Greenish above, white below, with a broad silvery stripe along the sides; pectoral fin yellow with dark spot near tip; tips of dorsal and anal fins and lower lobe of caudal fin yellow. To 73 cm.
Greenish above, white below, with a broad silvery stripe along the sides; pectoral fin yellow with dark spot near tip; tips of dorsal and anal fins and lower lobe of caudal fin yellow. To 73 cm.
Cite this page as:
Bray, D.J. 2024, Strongylura leiurus in Fishes of Australia, accessed 30 Apr 2025, https://fishesofaustralia.net.au/home/species/2094
Slender Longtom, Strongylura leiurus (Bleeker 1851)
More Info
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Distribution |
Albany, south Western Australia, around the tropical north to at least Wollongong, New South Wales, with vagrants in Spencer Gulf, South Australia, and Victoria. Elsewhere the species occurs in the Indo-west Pacific, from eastern Africa to New Guinea and Australia, north to Taiwan. Inhabits surface waters in bays, estuaries and coastal waters, with small juveniles often in mangroves. |
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Features |
Dorsal fin 17-21; Anal fin 23 - 25; Pectoral fin 10-11; Pelvic fin 6; Caudal fin 15; Lateral-line scales 185-200; predorsal scales 130-180. Body slender; jaws elongate with small, sharp needle-like teeth; dorsal and anal fins short-based, far back on body; pelvic fins abdominal; caudal fin emarginate; caudal peduncle without lateral keels. Scales small; lateral line low on body. |
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Etymology |
The specific name is from the Greek leios (= smooth) and oura (= tail), in reference to the lack of lateral keels on the caudal peduncle. |
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Species Citation |
Belone leiurus Bleeker 1851, Natuurkundig Tijdschrift voor Nederlandsch Indië 1: 94. Type locality: Java. |
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Author |
Bray, D.J. 2024 |
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Resources |
Slender Longtom, Strongylura leiurus (Bleeker 1851)
References
Allen, G.R. 1997. Marine Fishes of Tropical Australia and South-east Asia. Perth : Western Australian Museum 292 pp. 106 pls.
Allen, G.R. & Swainston, R. 1988. The Marine Fishes of North-Western Australia. A field guide for anglers and divers. Perth, WA : Western Australian Museum vi 201 pp., 70 pls.
Bleeker, P. 1851. Over eenige nieuwe soorten van Belone en Hemiramphus van Java. Natuurkundig Tijdschrift voor Nederlandsch Indië 1: 93-95 See ref at BHL
Collette, B.B. 1999. Family Belonidae. pp. 2151-2161 in Carpenter, K.E. & Niem, T.H. (eds). The Living Marine Resources of the Western Central Pacific. FAO Species Identification Guide for Fisheries Purposes. Rome : FAO Vol. 4 pp. 2069-2790.
Gomon. M.F 2008. Family Belonidae. pp. 408 in Gomon, M.F., Bray, D.J. & Kuiter, R.H. (eds). Fishes of Australia's Southern Coast. Sydney : Reed New Holland 928 pp.
Gounder, P., Perera, C,, Moore, G., Powers, N. & Arashvand, K. 2018. A fishy eyelid injury. Orbit 38: 1-3. https://doi.org/10.1080/01676830.2018.1440608
Günther, A. 1866. Catalogue of the Fishes of the British Museum. Catalogue of the Physostomi, containing the families Salmonidae, Percopsidae, Galaxidae, Mormyridae, Gymnarchidae, Esocidae, Umbridae, Scombresocidae, Cyprinodontidae, in the collection of the British Museum. London : British Museum Vol. 6 368 pp. (described as Belone ferox, type locality Sydney, Australia)
Hutchins, J.B. & Swainston, R. 1986. Sea Fishes of Southern Australia. Complete field guide for anglers and divers. Perth : Swainston Publishing 180 pp.
Johnson, J.W. 2010. Fishes of the Moreton Bay Marine Park and adjacent continental shelf waters, Queensland, Australia. pp. 299-353 in Davie, P.J.F. & Phillips, J.A. Proceedings of the Thirteenth International Marine Biological Workshop, The Marine Fauna and Flora of Moreton Bay. Memoirs of the Queensland Museum 54(3)
Kottelat, M. 2013. The fishes of the inland waters of southeast Asia: a catalogue and core bibliography of the fishes known to occur in freshwaters, mangroves and estuaries. Raffles Bulletin of Zoology Supplement 27: 1-663
Kuiter, R.H. 1993. Coastal Fishes of South-eastern Australia. Bathurst : Crawford House Press 437 pp.
Larson, H.K., Williams, R.S. & Hammer, M.P. 2013. An annotated checklist of the fishes of the Northern Territory, Australia. Zootaxa 3696(1): 1-293
Larson, H.K. & Williams, R.S. 1997. Darwin Harbour fishes: a survey and annotated checklist. pp. 339-380 in Hanley, H.R., Caswell, G., Megirian, D. & Larson, H.K. (eds). The Marine Flora and Fauna of Darwin Harbour, Northern Territory, Australia. Proceedings of the Sixth International Marine Biology Workshop. Darwin : Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory 466 pp.
Parin, N.V. 1967. Review of marine belonids of the western Pacific and Indian Oceans. Trudy Instituta Okeanologii. Akademiya Nauk SSSR. Moskva 84: 3-83 figs 1-25 [in Russian] (as Strongylura leiura)
Prokop, F. 2002. Australian Fish Guide. Croydon South, Victoria : Australian Fishing Network 256 pp.
Randall, J.E., Allen, G.R. & Steene, R. 1997. Fishes of the Great Barrier Reef and Coral Sea. Bathurst : Crawford House Press 557 pp. figs.
Richardson, J. 1846. Report on the ichthyology of the seas of China and Japan. Report of the 15th meeting of the British Association for the Advancement of Science 1845: 187-320 (described as Belone ciconia, type locality Canton, China Seas) See ref at BHL
Whitley, G.P. 1933. Studies in Ichthyology No. 7. Records of the Australian Museum 19(1): 60-112 figs 1-4 pls 11-15 (as Lewinichthys ferox)
