MythscribeMundus
THE NATURAL & IMAGINED WORLDAn illustrated compendium
NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD

ballyhoo

Hemiramphus brasiliensis (Linnaeus, 1758)

Source-backed taxonomic record

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.

native range of the ballyhoo halfbeak Hemiramphus brasiliensis (Beloniformes)

native range of the ballyhoo halfbeak Hemiramphus brasiliensis (Beloniformes)

Abraham · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Image source

Provider-generated thumbnail requested at 320 pixels; no local editing Local WebP display rendition; resized without cropping.

Open encyclopedia reference

The ballyhoo halfbeak, ballyhoo, balahu, redtailed balao or yellowtail ballyhoo (Hemiramphus brasiliensis) is a baitfish of the halfbeak family (Hemiramphidae). It is similar to the Balao halfbeak (H. balao) in most features. Some are used for trolling by saltwater anglers. Some have caused ciguatera poisoning in humans.

Wikipedia contributors, Ballyhoo; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T02:30:22.507899+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.

Identity & source status

Scientific name
Hemiramphus brasiliensis (Linnaeus, 1758)
Name authority
(Linnaeus, 1758)
Common name
ballyhoo
Rank
species
Accepted status
accepted
Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
Chordata
Class
Teleostei
Order
Beloniformes
Family
Hemiramphidae
Genus
Hemiramphus
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.

  1. domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
  2. kingdomAnimalia
  3. phylumChordata
  4. subphylumVertebrata
  5. infraphylumGnathostomata
  6. parvphylumOsteichthyes
  7. gigaclassActinopterygii
  8. superclassActinopteri
  9. classTeleostei
  10. orderBeloniformes
  11. familyHemiramphidae Gill, 1859
  12. genusHemiramphus Cuvier, 1816
  13. speciesHemiramphus brasiliensis (Linnaeus, 1758)

Close classified relatives

These entries share the source’s genus, Hemiramphus. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.

SpeciesClassificationSource status
Hemiramphus convexus Weber & de Beaufort, 1922HemiramphidaeChordataAccepted speciesExtinction status not supplied
black-barred halfbeakHemiramphus far (Forsskål, 1775)HemiramphidaeChordataAccepted speciesExtinction status not supplied
Hemiramphus marginatus (Forsskål, 1775)HemiramphidaeChordataAccepted speciesExtinction status not supplied
Hemiramphus archipelagicus Collette & Parin, 1978HemiramphidaeChordataAccepted speciesExtinction status not supplied
balaoHemiramphus balao Lesueur, 1821HemiramphidaeChordataAccepted speciesExtinction status not supplied
Bermuda halfbeakHemiramphus bermudensis Collette, 1962HemiramphidaeChordataAccepted speciesExtinction status not supplied
Hemiramphus depauperatus Lay & Bennett, 1839HemiramphidaeChordataAccepted speciesExtinction status not supplied
Lutke's halbeakHemiramphus lutkei Valenciennes, 1847HemiramphidaeChordataAccepted speciesExtinction status not supplied
Hemiramphus robustus Günther, 1866HemiramphidaeChordataAccepted speciesExtinction status not supplied
longfin halfbeakHemiramphus saltator Gilbert & Starks, 1904HemiramphidaeChordataAccepted speciesExtinction status not supplied

Browse 50 records assigned to Hemiramphidae.

Names & synonyms

Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.

Recorded nameSource status
Esox brasiliensis Linnaeus, 1758 Linnaeus, 1758ambiguous synonym
Hemiramphus brownii Valenciennes, 1847 Valenciennes, 1847synonym
Hemirhamphus filamentosus Poey, 1860 Poey, 1860synonym
Macrognathus brevirostris Gronow, 1854 Gronow, 1854synonym
Hemirhamphus brasiliensis 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.

  1. https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=159279 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.

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:6LQPQ. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.