Tylosurus crocodilus
Crocodile Longtom
Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
Chordata
Class
Actinopterygii
Order
Beloniformes
Family
Belonidae
Genus
Tylosurus
Species
Tylosurus crocodilus
Colours
Distinguishing features
A large elongate silver fish with long slender jaws and numerous fine sharp teeth. The lower tail lobe is larger than the upper.
Size
- Up to 150 cm (Standard length)
Depth range
- Depth range data is not yet available.
Synonyms
Distribution
©Atlas of Living Australia: Australian distribution
Distribution and habitat preferences
Pelagic (dwells near the water surface) but comes close to coral reefs in order to hunt small fishes.
Found all around the island but usually close to coral reefs and shallow sandy areas.
Behaviour
An aggressive hunter, the Crocodile Longtom feeds on small fishes. Like the smaller garfish, it may jump and tail-walk over the water surface for long distances when attacking prey or when startled by a boat.
Web resources
Danger
- unspecified - At night, Longtoms may tail-walk across the water surface at high speed toward a light source, and there are at least 5 recorded fatalities from Southern Japan alone. In one case a snorkeller was speared through the neck and had the carotoid artery severed, in another case a fisherman in a small boat was speared through the eye-socket and the Longtom's beak penetrated his brain.
References
- Jabbar, A., A. Asnoussi, L.J. Norbury, A. Eisenbarth, S. Shamsi, R.B. Gasser, A.L. Lopata and I. Beveridge (2012). Larval anisakid nematodes in teleost fishes from Lizard Island, northern Great Barrier Reef, Australia. Marine and Freshwater Research, 63: 1283-1299. LIRS catalog number 1584.
- Lovejoy, N.R., M. Iranpour and B.B. Collette (2004). Phylogeny and jaw ontogeny of beloniform fishes, Integrative and Comparative Biology, 44: 366-377. LIRS catalog number 90022.
- Tamaki, N., T. Mukai, E. Uchima, and H. Nagamori (1992). An autopsy case of a fisherman stabbed by needlefish, Research and Practice in Forensic Medicine, 35: 201-204. LIRS catalog number 90021.