mirrorwing flying-fish
Hirundichthys speculiger (Valenciennes, 1847)
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
The mirrorwing flyingfish (Hirundichthys speculiger) is a flying fish of the family Exocoetidae. It was first described by the French zoologist, Achille Valenciennes in a 22-volume work titled Histoire naturelle des poissons (Natural History of Fishes), which was a collaboration with Georges Cuvier.
Wikipedia contributors, Mirrorwing flyingfish; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T07:56:21.137271+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Hirundichthys speculiger (Valenciennes, 1847)
- Name authority
- (Valenciennes, 1847)
- Common name
- mirrorwing flying-fish
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Teleostei
- Order
- Beloniformes
- Family
- Exocoetidae
- Genus
- Hirundichthys
- Extinction status
- Not supplied by this source
Source habitat flags: Marine: yes · Freshwater: no · Terrestrial: no. These do not form a complete habitat description.
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- gigaclassActinopterygii
- superclassActinopteri
- classTeleostei
- orderBeloniformes
- familyExocoetidae Risso, 1827
- genusHirundichthys Breder, 1928
- speciesHirundichthys speculiger (Valenciennes, 1847)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Hirundichthys. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| fourwing flyingfishHirundichthys affinis (Günther, 1866) | ExocoetidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Hirundichthys coromandelensis (Hornell, 1923) | ExocoetidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Hirundichthys ilma (Clarke, 1899) | ExocoetidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Hirundichthys indicus Shakhovskoy & Parin, 2013 | ExocoetidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Hirundichthys oxycephalus (Bleeker, 1853) | ExocoetidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| blackwing flyingfishHirundichthys rondeletii (Valenciennes, 1847) | ExocoetidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Hirundichthys socotranus (Steindachner, 1902) | ExocoetidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Hirundichthys albimaculatus (Fowler, 1934) | ExocoetidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| bladewing flyingfishHirundichthys marginatus (Nichols & Breder, 1928) | ExocoetidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Hirundichthys volador (Jordan, 1884) | ExocoetidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Cypselurus hyperistius Fowler, 1919 Fowler, 1919 | synonym |
| Cypselurus speculiger (Valenciennes, 1847) (Valenciennes, 1847) | synonym |
| Cypsilurus speculiger (Valenciennes, 1847) (Valenciennes, 1847) | synonym |
| Exocoetus nigripinnis Valenciennes, 1847 Valenciennes, 1847 | synonym |
| Exocoetus polleni Bleeker, 1865 Bleeker, 1865 | synonym |
| Exocoetus hyperistius (Fowler, 1919) (Fowler, 1919) | synonym |
| Exocoetus nigripennis Valenciennes, 1847 Valenciennes, 1847 | synonym |
| Exocoetus speculiger Valenciennes, 1847 Valenciennes, 1847 | synonym |
| Hirundichthys speculiger praecox Whitley, 1937 Whitley, 1937 | synonym |
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=126387 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:3M4QW. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.