Editing Flying fish (section)

{{short description|Family of marine fish that can make powerful, self-propelled leaps out of water}}
{{Other uses}}
{{distinguish|Raining fish}}
{{Automatic taxobox
| fossil_range = {{fossil range|50|0|[[Early Eocene]] to present|ref=<ref>{{cite web |last1=Fossilworks |title=Exocoetidae |url=https://paleobiodb.org/classic/checkTaxonInfo?taxon_no=266181 |access-date=2021-12-17 |archive-date=2021-12-12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211212222109/http://www.fossilworks.org/cgi-bin/bridge.pl?a=taxonInfo&taxon_no=266181 |url-status=live }}</ref>}}
| image = sailfin flyingfish.jpg
| image_caption = Sailfin flying-fish, ''[[Parexocoetus brachypterus]]''
| display_parents = 3
| taxon = Exocoetidae
| authority = [[Antoine Risso|Risso]], 1827<ref name = VDLEF>{{cite journal | author1 = Richard van der Laan | author2 = William N. Eschmeyer | author3 = Ronald Fricke | name-list-style = amp |year=2014 | title = Family-group names of Recent fishes | journal = Zootaxa | volume = 3882 | issue =2 | pages = 001–230| doi = 10.11646/zootaxa.3882.1.1 | pmid = 25543675 | doi-access = free }}</ref>
| subdivision_ranks = Genera
| subdivision = See text
}}
The '''Exocoetidae''' are a [[family (biology)|family]] of [[Saltwater fish|marine]] [[Actinopterygii|ray-finned fish]] in the [[order (biology)|order]] [[Beloniformes]], known colloquially as '''flying fish''' or '''flying cod'''. About 64 [[species]] are grouped in seven [[genus|genera]]. While they do not "fly" in the same way a bird does, flying fish can make powerful leaps out of the water where their long wing-like fins enable [[gliding flight|gliding]] for considerable distances above the water's surface. The main reason for this behavior is thought to be to escape from underwater predators,<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://blogs.bu.edu/bioaerial2012/2012/11/20/recent-discoveries-about-the-evolution-of-flying-fish/|title=Recent Discoveries about the Evolution of Flying Fish {{!}} Bio-Aerial Locomotion|language=en-US|access-date=2019-09-01}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Davenport |first1=John |title=How and why do flying fish fly? |journal=Reviews in Fish Biology and Fisheries |date=June 1994 |volume=4 |issue=2 |pages=184–214 |doi=10.1007/BF00044128 |bibcode=1994RFBF....4..184D |s2cid=34720887 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/fish/group/flying-fish/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170702112716/http://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/fish/group/flying-fish/|url-status=dead|archive-date=July 2, 2017|title=Flying Fish {{!}} National Geographic|date=2010-04-11|website=Animals|access-date=2019-09-01}}</ref> which include [[swordfish]], [[mackerel]], [[tuna]], and [[marlin]], among others,<ref>{{cite book|title=Sealights|page=32|author=Cy Berlowitz|date=2016|publisher=Lulu.com |isbn=9781365061417}}</ref> though their periods of flight expose them to attack by avian predators such as [[frigate bird]]s.

[[Barbados]] is known as "the land of the flying fish" and the fish is one of the national symbols of the country. The [[Exocet]] missile is named after them, as variants are launched from underwater, and take a low trajectory, skimming the surface, before striking their targets.