Crocodile Longtom, Tylosurus crocodilus (Péron & Lesueur 1821)


Other Names: Choram Long-tom, Crocodile Long-tom, Crocodilian Longtom, Giant Long-tom, Hound Needlefish

A Crocodile Longtom, Tylosurus crocodilus, in the Maldives. Source: Alexia Pihier for MDC SeaMarc Maldives / Wikimedia Commons. License: CC BY Attribution-ShareAlike


Cite this page as:
Bray, D.J. 2018, Tylosurus crocodilus in Fishes of Australia, accessed 29 Mar 2024, https://fishesofaustralia.net.au/home/species/2097

Crocodile Longtom, Tylosurus crocodilus (Péron & Lesueur 1821)

More Info


Distribution

Bunbury, Western Australia, including offshore reefs of the north, and Ashmore Reef, Timor Sea, to the Gold Coast, southern Queensland; also Cocos (Keeling) Islands and Christmas Island in the eastern Indian Ocean, and possibly at Lord Howe Island in the Tasman Sea. Elsewhere the species is circumglobal in tropical waters. This species is epipelagic in coastal waters, inhabiting coral and rocky reefs, lagoons, bays and estuaries.

Features

Dorsal fin 21-23; Anal fin 18-22; Vertebrae 80-86.
Body elongate; upper and lower jaws extremely long, forming a stout beak armed with very sharp teeth; gill rakers absent. Nostrils in depression before eyes (nasal pit). Pelvic fins abdominal; anal fin long, 5.5-8.0 times in body length; small, black lateral keel on either sides of caudal peduncle; caudal fin deeply forked.

Feeding

Feeds mainly on small fishes.

Remarks

Longtoms (aka needlefishes) leap from the water when threatened or attracted to lights at night. As a result, they often feared by fishers because of the puncture wounds caused by their long sharp jaws.

Species Citation

Belone crocodila Péron & Lesueur, in Lesueur 1821, J. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia 2(1): 129. Type locality: Réunion Island.

Author

Bray, D.J. 2018

Resources

Australian Faunal Directory

Crocodile Longtom, Tylosurus crocodilus (Péron & Lesueur 1821)

References


Allen, G.R. 1993. Fishes of Ashmore Reef and Cartier Island. Records of the Western Australian Museum, Supplement 44: 67-91 

Allen, G.R. 1997. Marine Fishes of Tropical Australia and South-east Asia. Perth : Western Australian Museum 292 pp. 106 pls. 

Allen, G.R. & Erdmann, M.V. 2012. Reef fishes of the East Indies. Perth : Tropical Reef Research 3 vols, 1260 pp. 

Allen, G.R. & Steene, R.C. 1988. Fishes of Christmas Island Indian Ocean. Christmas Island : Christmas Island Natural History Association 197 pp.

Allen, G.R., Steene, R.C. & Orchard, M. 2007. Fishes of Christmas Island. Christmas Island : Christmas Island Natural History Association 2 edn, 284 pp. 

Allen, G.R. & Smith-Vaniz, W.F. 1994. Fishes of Cocos (Keeling) Islands. Atoll Research Bulletin 412: 1-21 

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. 

Blaber, S.J.M. 1980. Fish of the Trinity Inlet System of North Queensland with notes on the ecology of fish faunas of tropical Indo-Pacific estuaries. Australian Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research 31: 137-46.

Bloch, M.E. & Schneider, J.G. 1801. Systema Ichthyologiae Iconibus ex Illustratum. Berlin 584 pp. 110 pls. 

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. 

Collette, B.B., Acero, A., Polanco Fernandez, A. & Aiken, K.A. 2015. Tylosurus crocodilus. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2015: e.T183274A15602960. http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2015-4.RLTS.T183274A15602960.en. Downloaded on 11 August 2018.

Collette, B.B. & Berry, F.H. 1965. Recent studies on the needlefishes (Belonidae) : an evaluation. Copeia 1965(3): 386-392

Grant, E.M. 2002. Guide to Fishes. Redcliffe : EM Grant Pty Ltd 880 pp. 

Halstead, B.W., Auerbach, P.S. & Campbell, D.R. 1990. A colour atlas of dangerous marine animals. Wolfe Medical Publications Ltd, W.S. Cowell Ltd, Ipswich, England. 192 pp.

Hobbs, J-P.A., Newman, S.J., Mitsopoulos, G.E.A., Travers, M.J., Skepper, C.L., Gilligan, J.J., Allen, G.R., Choat, H.J. & Ayling, A.M. 2014. Checklist and new records of Christmas Island fishes: the influence of isolation, biogeography and habitat availability on species abundance and community composition. Raffles Bulletin of Zoology Supplement 30: 184–202 

Hobbs, J-P.A., Newman, S .J., Mitsopoulos, G.E.A., Travers, M.J., Skepper, C.L., Gilligan, J.J., Allen, G.R., Choat, H.J. & Ayling, A.M. 2014. Fishes of the Cocos (Keeling) Islands: new records, community composition and biogeographic significance. Raffles Bulletin of Zoology Supplement 30: 203–219 

Hutchins, J.B. 2003. Checklist of marine fishes of the Dampier Archipelago, Western Australia. pp. 453-478 in Wells, F.E., Walker, D.I., & Jones, D.S. (eds). Proceedings of the Eleventh International Marine Biological Workshop: The Marine Flora and Fauna of Dampier, Western Australia. Perth : Western Australian Museum. 

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. 1999. Annotated checklist of the fishes of Moreton Bay, Queensland, Australia. Memoirs of the Queensland Museum 43(2): 709-762 

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. 1996. Guide to Sea Fishes of Australia. A comprehensive reference for divers and fishermen. Sydney, NSW, Australia : New Holland Publishers xvii, 434 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 

Paradice, W.E. & Whitley, G.P. 1927. Northern Territory fishes. Memoirs of the Queensland Museum 9(1): 76-106 figs 1-3 pls 11-15 
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] 

Péron, F. & Lesueur, C.A. in Lesueur, C.A. 1821. Observations on several genera and species of fish belonging to the natural family of the esoces. Journal of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia 2(1): 124-138 

Randall, J.E., Allen, G.R. & Steene, R. 1990. Fishes of the Great Barrier Reef and Coral Sea. Bathurst : Crawford House Press 507 pp. figs. 

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. 

Temminck, C.J. & Schlegel, H. 1846. Pisces. 227-247 pls 104 (in part), 105-110 in Siebold, P. Fr de (ed.). Fauna Japonica. Leyden : Apud Arnz & Socios Vol. 4(13).

Quick Facts


CAAB Code:37235005

Conservation:IUCN Least Concern

Danger:May leap from the water

Depth:1-20 m

Habitat:Epipelagic, coastal waters

Max Size:150 cm TL

Species Image Gallery

Species Maps

CAAB distribution map