Flying fish live in all of the oceans, particularly in warm tropical and subtropical waters. Their most striking feature is their pectoral fins, which are unusually large, and enable the fish to hide and escape from predators by leaping out of the water, taking short gliding flights through air just above the water's surface. The curved profile of the "wing" has an aerodynamic shape that is comparable to that of a bird wing. The fish is able to increase its time in the air by flying straight into or at an angle to the direction of updrafts created by a combination of air and ocean currents.
Genus Exocoetus has one pair of fins and a streamlined body to optimize for speed, while Cypselurus has a flattened body and two pairs of fins which maximizes its time in the air.
flying fish
flying fish
flying fish
flying fish
flying fish
flying fish
flying fish