Flying fish

The Exocoetidae are a family of marine fish in the order Beloniformes of class Actinopterygii. Fish of this family are known as flying fish. About 64 species are grouped in seven to nine genera. Flying fish can make powerful, self-propelled leaps out of water into air, where their long, wing-like fins enable gliding flight for considerable distances above the water's surface. This uncommon ability is a natural defense mechanism to evade predators.

The oldest known fossil of a flying or gliding fish, Potanichthys xingyiensis, dates back to the Middle Triassic, 235–242 million years ago. However, this fossil is not related to modern flying fish, which evolved independently about 66 million years ago.

Etymology

The term Exocoetidae is not only the present scientific name for a genus of flying fish in this family, but also the general name in Latin for a flying fish. The suffix -idae, common for indicating a family, follows the root of the Latin word exocoetus, a transliteration of the Ancient Greek name ἐξώκοιτος. This means literally "sleeping outside", from ἔξω "outside" and κοῖτος "bed", "resting place", so named as flying fish were believed to leave the water to sleep on the shore.

Flying fish (disambiguation)

The flying fish is a marine fish family consisting of approximately 70 species.

Flying fish may also refer to:

Art, entertainment, and media

Enterprises

Ships

Other uses

See also

Flying Fish (film)

Flying Fish (Sinhalese: ඉගිල්ලෙන මලුවො) is a 2011 anthology film directed by Sri Lankan filmmaker Sanjeewa Pushpakumara. It was produced with the financial support of the Hubert Bals Fund of the International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR). The film made its world premiere on January 28, 2011, as part of the Rotterdam festival's Tiger Awards Competition.Film has been noted for its political value, beautiful cinematography, long takes, and shocking violence

The film draws on stories from the director's life in his hometown of Trincomalee, Sri Lanka, where Flying Fish was shot.

Synopsis

The film weaves together three narratives set against the backdrop of the Sri Lankan Civil War.

Wasana and Soldier

A young Sinhalese village woman falls in love with an army soldier and becomes pregnant. The couple attempts to abort the child but fails. While they are making love in the ruins of an abandoned building, her father sees them. While he does not confront her about what he has seen, the scene haunts him continuously. As the war intensifies, adult villagers are recruited into the civil defense force to protect the village border. Among these recruits is her father, who is punished and humiliated by the soldiers from her lover's platoon for not being on guard one day. Demoralized, he shoots himself inside an empty bunker. Meanwhile, the soldier and his platoon receive a transfer to a distant posting, leaving the woman in great agony. Tortured by her father's suicide and her rage at the soldier who leaves her pregnant, she flees the village.