The common hatchetfish or river hatchetfish, Gasteropelecus sternicla, is a tropical fish belonging to the freshwater hatchetfish family (Gasteropelecidae). Originating in South America in the Peruvian and middle Amazon, the Guianas and Venezuela, it grows to about 2.5 inches (6.5 cm). The fish gets its name from its relatively large protruding belly which resembles a hatchet. Hatchetfish will often jump out of the water when alarmed, propelled by their large, winglike pectoral fins. They may also jump to catch small aerial insects.
Read more about Common Hatchetfish: Hatchetfish in Aquaria
Famous quotes containing the word common:
“When we are high and airy hundreds say
That if we hold that flight they’ll leave the place,
While those same hundreds mock another day
Because we have made our art of common things ...”
—William Butler Yeats (1865–1939)