Head to head
European Garfish vs Needlefish
European Garfish
VS Needlefish
The European garfish and the needlefish are two long, silvery, beak-jawed fish of the surface waters that share a family and a strange skeletal feature, bright green bones.
| European Garfish | Needlefish | |
|---|---|---|
| Scientific name | Belone belone | Tylosurus crocodilus |
| Relationship | A fellow member of the needlefish family | A fellow member of the needlefish family, and the largest needlefish |
| Size | Can reach about 90 cm in length | Reaches about 1 to 1.5 m, with an extremely elongated, cylindrical, bright silver body |
| Jaws | Long, narrow jaws forming a beak, armed with many small, sharp teeth | Long, narrow jaws lined with sharp teeth and a deeply forked tail |
| Diet | Small fish such as sand eels, sprats, and young herring near the surface | Small fish driven to the surface and seized sideways in the beak, along with some shrimp and squid |
| Leaping | Swims near the surface, often leaping and skipping across the water, and sometimes follows mackerel shoals | Rockets out of the water when frightened, especially by a bright light at night, skimming through the air at around 60 km per hour |
| Green bones | Its bones are bright green, due to a harmless pigment | Its bones are stained a vivid blue-green by a harmless bile pigment, biliverdin |
| Range | Open and coastal waters of the north-eastern Atlantic, the North Sea, the Baltic, the Mediterranean, and the Black Sea | Tropical and warm-temperate coastal waters around the world, over reefs, lagoons, seagrass beds, and open shallows |
European Garfish vs Needlefish: common questions
Are both fish green-boned?
Yes, both have bright green bones caused by a harmless pigment, and both are safe to eat.
Which one is dangerous to people?
The crocodile needlefish, which leaps towards lights and boats at night and can drive its beak into people, causing serious puncture wounds.
Which one visits northern Europe?
The European garfish, which moves into coastal waters of northern Europe in spring and early summer to spawn.