Cornetfish

The Cornet fish is a relative small family of fishes that are very elongated and look quite strange when viewed.
They are sometimes called rifle fish because of their looks.

When viewed they have a very long snout that is  snout making up a quarter of the overall   length.

The cornet fish is sometimes called the Rifle fish
The cornet fish is sometimes called the Rifle fish

At the tip of the snout is avery tiny mouth that has a lot of fine sharp teeth. Their small  caudal fin has a long filamentthe protrudes from its centre. Their skin is scaleless, and their colour can range from  pink, yellow, or pale brown,but very often has a green cast to it regardless of the color. They also boast a row of bony plates on their midline area.

They are  not of interest to the fishing industry, other than as a curiousity so this would explain why this particular order of fishes is in no danger so far as being threatened or overkilled.

The cornetfish fits into the family of fished called Fistulariidae.

The cornet fish will range from10 inches up to about 80 inches long
The cornet fish will range from10 inches up to about 80 inches long

This family of fishes has just one genus, Fistularia which boasts only four species,  although they are widely spread over the world, found worldwide in tropical and subtropical  underwater environments.
They can be quite small or quite large, ranging up to about 200 centimeters in length or a whopping 78 inches, (over 6 feet) looking a lot like an eel, except that they have very distinct dorsal and anal fins, as well as a forked fin in the caudal area.

The Cornet fish lived primarily in coastal areas, or in coral reefs, and feed on the smaller fishes, crustaceans such as small shrimp and lobsters, and many other types of invertebrates.

Though they are not widely fished, they are of some small interest and you can, if you look, find them in local fish markets in the areas where they range.

They also live on grassy flats, and prefer harder rocky bottomed areas.

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