What is "needlefish"

Garfish \Gar"fish`\, n. [See Gar, n.] (Zo["o]l.)

1. A European marine fish ( Belone vulgaris); -- called also gar, gerrick, greenback, greenbone, gorebill, hornfish, longnose, mackerel guide, sea needle, and sea pike.

2. One of several species of similar fishes of the genus Tylosurus, of which one species ( T. marinus) is common on the Atlantic coast. T. Caribb[ae]us, a very large species, and T. crassus, are more southern; -- called also needlefish. Many of the common names of the European garfish are also applied to the American species.

n. Slender fish, in the family ''(taxlink Belonidae family noshow=1)'', usually found in shallow marine habitats.

1. n. elongate European surface-dwelling predacious fishes with long toothed jaws; abundant in coastal waters [syn: gar, billfish]

2. fish with long tubular snout and slim body covered with bony plates [syn: pipefish]

3. [also: needlefishes (pl)]

Needlefish ( family Belonidae) or Long Tom are piscivorous fishes primarily associated with very shallow marine habitats or the surface of the open sea. Some genera include species found in marine, brackish, and freshwater environments (e.g., Strongylura) while a few genera are confined to freshwater rivers and streams, including Belonion, Potamorrhaphis, and Xenentodon. Needlefish closely resemble North American freshwater gars (family Lepisosteidae) in being elongated and having long, narrow jaws filled with sharp teeth, and some species of needlefishes are referred to as gars or garfish despite being only distantly related to the true gars. In fact, the name " garfish" was originally used for the needlefish Belone belone in Europe and only later applied to the North American fishes by European settlers during the 18th century.

A Needlefish is a piscivorous fish usually associated with shallow marine habitats or the surface of the open sea.

Needlefish may also refer to:

• USS Needlefish (SS-376), Balao-class submarine
• USS Needlefish (SS-493), Tench-class submarine