Flying Fish

Exocoetidae is a family of marine fish in the order Beloniformes of class Actinopterygii. Fish of this family are known as flying fish. There are about sixty-four species grouped in seven to nine genera. Flying fish can make powerful, self-propelled leaps out of water into air, where their long, wing-like fins enable gliding flight for considerable distances above the water's surface. This uncommon ability is a natural defense mechanism to evade predators.

The oldest known fossil of a flying or gliding fish, Potanichthys xingyiensis, dates back to the Middle Triassic, 235-242 million years ago. However, this fossil in not related to modern flying fish, which evolved independently about 65 million years ago.

Read more about Flying Fish:  Etymology, Distribution and Description, Fishery and Cuisine

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