Home/Species/ Atlantic Needlefish

Strongylura marina

(Walbaum, 1792)

Atlantic Needlefish

G5Secure Found in 1 roadless area NatureServe Explorer →

G5SecureGlobal Rank

Least concernIUCN

LowThreat Impact

Identity

Unique IDELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.106117

Element CodeAFCNA01010

Record TypeSPECIES

ClassificationSpecies

Classification StatusStandard

Name CategoryVertebrate Animal

IUCNLeast concern

Endemicoccurs (regularly, as a native taxon) in multiple nations

KingdomAnimalia

PhylumCraniata

ClassActinopterygii

OrderBeloniformes

FamilyBelonidae

GenusStrongylura

Concept Reference

Robins, C.R., R.M. Bailey, C.E. Bond, J.R. Brooker, E.A. Lachner, R.N. Lea, and W.B. Scott. 1991. Common and scientific names of fishes from the United States and Canada. American Fisheries Society, Special Publication 20. 183 pp.

Taxonomic Comments

Sometimes referred to in literature as S. timucu, which is a distinct species (Lee et al. 1980). See Boughton et al. (1991) and Lovejoy and Collette (2001) for phylogenies of the Belonidae.

Conservation Status

Rank Method Rank calculation - Biotics v2

Review Date2024-10-30

Change Date1996-09-20

Edition Date2024-10-30

Edition AuthorsGundy, R. L. (2024)

Threat ImpactLow

Range Extent>2,500,000 square km (greater than 1,000,000 square miles)

Number of Occurrences> 300

Rank Reasons

This species is widespread and common in coastal water in the western Atlantic Ocean. Harmful algal blooms and recreational fishing are considered minor threats.

Range Extent Comments

This species is found in nearshore waters along the Atlantic coast from Maine, United States south to Florida, around the Gulf of Mexico to Brazil (Lovejoy and Collette 2001). Using Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) (2024) records, range is estimated to be 25.975 million km².

Occurrences Comments

There are many occurrences throughout the range (GBIF 2024).

Threat Impact Comments

Localized threats exist, but no major range-wide threats are known. Harmful algal blooms, naturally occurring events exacerbated by anthropogenic nutrient loads, can cause large-scale localized mortality events (Aguilar-Medrano et al. 2023). Fishermen throughout the range often harvest this species or kill this species as undesirable by-catch (Robert Gundy, pers. comm. 2024).

Ecology & Habitat

Habitat

Coastal waters, bays, estuaries, and rivers; moves upstream in fresh water as far as Fall Line (Lee et al. 1980, Robins and Ray 1986). Spawns in fresh and brackish waters in shallows with submerged algal masses (Lee et al. 1980).

Reproduction

May spawn in summer (Manooch 1984).

Other Nations (2)

CanadaNNR

United StatesN5

Province	Rank	Native
Virginia	SNR	Yes
Alabama	S5	Yes
North Carolina	S5	Yes
Rhode Island	SNR	Yes
New Jersey	SNR	Yes
Louisiana	S4	Yes
Georgia	S4	Yes
New York	S2	Yes
South Carolina	S4	Yes
Maine	SNR	Yes
Maryland	SNR	Yes
Texas	S3	Yes
Delaware	SNR	Yes
Massachusetts	S4	Yes
Mississippi	S5	Yes
Florida	S5	Yes

Threat Assessments

Threat	Scope	Severity	Timing
5 - Biological resource use	Pervasive - large	Slight or 1-10% pop. decline	High (continuing)
5.4 - Fishing & harvesting aquatic resources	Pervasive - large	Slight or 1-10% pop. decline	High (continuing)
5.4.1 - Intentional use: subsistence/small scale (species being assessed is the target) [harvest]	Pervasive - large	Slight or 1-10% pop. decline	High (continuing)
5.4.5 - Persecution/control	Pervasive - large	Slight or 1-10% pop. decline	High (continuing)
8 - Invasive & other problematic species, genes & diseases	Large (31-70%)	Slight or 1-10% pop. decline	High (continuing)
8.2 - Problematic native species/diseases	Large (31-70%)	Slight or 1-10% pop. decline	High (continuing)
9 - Pollution	Large (31-70%)	Slight or 1-10% pop. decline	High (continuing)
9.1 - Domestic & urban waste water	Large (31-70%)	Slight or 1-10% pop. decline	High (continuing)
9.3 - Agricultural & forestry effluents	Large (31-70%)	Slight or 1-10% pop. decline	High (continuing)

Roadless Areas (1)

Florida (1)

Area	Forest	Acres
Alexander Springs Creek	Ocala National Forest	2,954

References (14)

Aguilar-Medrano, R., M. E. Vega-Cendejas, and A. A. Chi Espínola. 2023. A checklist of dead fishes (Actinopterygii and Elasmobranchii) associated with the algal bloom event of the summer of 2022 on the Yucatan coasts, southern Gulf of Mexico. Acta Ichthyologica et Piscatoria 53: 263–270.
Boschung, H. T., and R. L. Mayden. 2004. Fishes of Alabama. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, D.C. 960 pp.
Boughton, D. A., B. B. Collette, and A. R. McCune. 1991. Heterochrony in jaw morphology of needlefishes (Teleostei: Belonidae). Systematic Zoology 40:329-354.
Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF). 2024. Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) data portal. Online. Available: https://www.gbif.org/ (accessed 2024).
Lee, D. S., C. R. Gilbert, C. H. Hocutt, R. E. Jenkins, D. E. McAllister, and J. R. Stauffer, Jr. 1980. Atlas of North American freshwater fishes. North Carolina State Museum of Natural History, Raleigh, North Carolina. i-x + 854 pp.
Lovejoy, N. R., and B. B. Collette. 2001. Phylogenetic relationships of New World needlefishes (Teleostei: Belonidae) and the biogeography of transitions between marine and freshwater habitats. Copeia 2001:324-338.
Manooch, C. S., III. 1984. Fisherman's guide. Fishes of the southeastern United States. North Carolina State Museum of Natural History, Raleigh. 362 pp.
Marcy, B. C., Jr., D. E. Fletcher, F. D. Martin, M. H. Paller, and M.J.M. Reichert. 2005. Fishes of the middle Savannah River basin. University of Georgia Press, Athens. xiv + 460 pp.
Nelson, J. S., E. J. Crossman, H. Espinosa-Perez, L. T. Findley, C. R. Gilbert, R. N. Lea, and J. D. Williams. 2004. Common and scientific names of fishes from the United States, Canada, and Mexico. American Fisheries Society, Special Publication 29, Bethesda, Maryland. 386 pp.
Page, L. M., and B. M. Burr. 2011. Peterson field guide to freshwater fishes of North America north of Mexico. Second edition. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Boston. xix + 663 pp.
Page, L. M., H. Espinosa-Pérez, L. T. Findley, C. R. Gilbert, R. N. Lea, N. E. Mandrak, R. L. Mayden, and J. S. Nelson. 2013. Common and scientific names of fishes from the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Seventh edition. American Fisheries Society, Special Publication 34, Bethesda, Maryland.
Page, L. M., K. E. Bemis, T. E. Dowling, H.S. Espinosa-Pérez, L.T. Findley, C. R. Gilbert, K. E. Hartel, R. N. Lea, N. E. Mandrak, M. A. Neigbors, J. J. Schmitter-Soto, and H. J. Walker, Jr. 2023. Common and scientific names of fishes from the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Eighth edition. American Fisheries Society (AFS), Special Publication 37, Bethesda, Maryland, 439 pp.
Robins, C. R., and G. C. Ray. 1986. A Field Guide to Atlantic Coast Fishes of North America. Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston, Massachusetts. 354 pp.
Robins, C.R., R.M. Bailey, C.E. Bond, J.R. Brooker, E.A. Lachner, R.N. Lea, and W.B. Scott. 1991. Common and scientific names of fishes from the United States and Canada. American Fisheries Society, Special Publication 20. 183 pp.

Strongylura marina

Habitat

Reproduction

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