lauttimur.com - Flying fish a is fish that belong to Exocoetidae family. This name combination has a meaning of ‘sleeping outside’. This name is based by early sailors misconception that these fish returned to the shore at night to sleep. Flying fish is in the same order with needlefish and ricefish. The total species of flying fish is estimated about 40 species that spread out across the ocean. Here are some species of flying fish:

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•    Blue Flying Fish, this fish is also known as the tropical two-wing flying fish. This species of flying fish can be found throughout many tropical waters of the Atlantic and Pacific Ocean. The color of its upper body is iridescent blue and lower part color is silvery-white.
•     Black Wing Flying Fish, this fish is also found in the Atlantic and Pacific’s tropical seas. This fish has a distinct color of dark blue on the upper half and white on the lower half.
•    Four-wing Flying Fish, just like its name, this fish species has four ‘wings’ instead of two. This fish commercial rights were a cause of dispute between the nearby Caribbean countries of Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago.

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The appearance of Flying fish is very similar with a sardine. This fish has a long, torpedo-shaped body with blue or silvery scales and their vertically forked tail. By far the most noticeable  part is their wing-like pectoral fins that allow them to glide in the air. Some species of this fish even have a second set of ‘wings’ that are actually a modified pelvic fins. Flying fish can grow to reach anywhere between 6 – 20 inches long but never exceed 2 pound weight.

The flying fish scientific classification is

Kingdom: Animalia 
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Beloniformes
Suborder: Exocoetoidei
Family: Exocoetidae
Subfamily: Cypsellurinae
Genus: Cypselurus