Strongylura is a genus of needlefishes from the family Belonidae which is distributed throughout the tropical and warmer temperate waters of the world, including some species which live in freshwater.
Species
Currently, there are 14 recognized species in this genus:
- Strongylura anastomella <small>(Valenciennes, 1846)</small>
- Strongylura exilis <small>(Girard, 1854)</small> (Californian needlefish)
- Strongylura fluviatilis <small>(Regan, 1903)</small>
- Strongylura hubbsi <small>Collette, 1974</small> (Maya needlefish)
- Strongylura incisa <small>(Valenciennes, 1846)</small> (reef needlefish)
- Strongylura krefftii <small>(Günther, 1866)</small> (long tom)
- Strongylura leiura <small>(Bleeker, 1850)</small> (banded needlefish)
- Strongylura marina <small>(Walbaum, 1792)</small> (Atlantic needlefish)
- Strongylura notata <small>(Poey, 1860)</small>
- S. n. forsythia <small>Breder, 1932</small>
- S. n. notata <small>(Poey, 1860)</small> (redfin needlefish)
- Strongylura scapularis <small>(D. S. Jordan & C. H. Gilbert, 1882)</small> (shoulderspot needlefish)
- Strongylura senegalensis <small>(Valenciennes, 1846)</small> (Senegal needlefish)
- Strongylura strongylura <small>(van Hasselt, 1823)</small> (spottail needlefish)
- Strongylura timucu <small>(Walbaum, 1792)</small> (timucu)
- Strongylura urvillii <small>(Valenciennes, 1846)</small> (Urville's longtom)
Strongylura is thought to not be monophyletic; the following cladogram is based on a phylogenetic analysis of both genetics and morphology by Lovejoy (2007), with Strongylura being represented as polyphyletic with respects to other belonids:
References