Garfish
Belone belone (Linnaeus, 1760)
The garfish (Belone belone) is a bony fish in the family Belonidae, part of the order Beloniformes. It belongs to the genus Belone in the class Teleostei, phylum Chordata, and its scientific name authority is (Linnaeus, 1760).
Quick facts about the garfish
Other English names for the garfish include Garpike, Greenbone, Sea needle, Black sea garfish and European needlefish. The IUCN Red List global assessment lists the garfish as Least Concern (LC), which is not a threatened category.
- Weight
- Not recorded
- Length
- Not recorded
- Lifespan
- Not recorded
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- marinesrc for Habitat
- Young per litter or clutch
- Not recorded
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
Photos of the garfish
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
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Where does the garfish live?
Not recorded
What is the garfish?
The garfish (Belone belone), also known as the garpike, needlefish or sea needle, is a pelagic, oceanodromous needlefish found in brackish and marine waters of the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean, Caribbean, Black, and Baltic Seas.
From the Wikipedia article “Garfish” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Garfish&oldid=1380233200), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
Is the garfish endangered?
The garfish is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species.
How is the garfish classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classTeleostei
- orderBeloniformes
- familyBelonidae
- genusBelone
- SpeciesBelone belone (Linnaeus, 1760)
Synonyms Belone acus, Belone bellone, Belone belone acus, Belone belone belone, Belone belone gracilis, Belone cornidii, Belone gracilis, Belone linnei, Belone longirostris, Belone rostrata, Belone undecimradiata, Belone vulgaris, Belone vulgaris, Esox belone, Esox vulgaris, Hemiramphus balticus, Hemiramphus behnii, Hemiramphus behnii, Hemiramphus europaeus, Hemiramphus obtusus, Macrognathus scolopax
Other names and names in other languages (74)
- Black sea garfishEnglish
- European needlefishEnglish
- GarpikeEnglish
- GreenboneEnglish
- Sea needleEnglish
- ЗарганBulgarian
- olfiBreton
- jvinekBreton
- agullaCatalan
- Agulla primaCatalan
- jehlice rohozobáCzech
- cornbigWelsh
- CombigauWelsh
- môr nodwyddWelsh
- hornfiskDanish
- Almindelig hornfiskDanish
- HornhechtGerman
- gewöhnlicher HornhechtGerman
- GrünknochenGerman
- ΖαργάναGreek
- GuyaSpanish
- agujaSpanish
- Aguja de MarSpanish
- orratzaBasque
- nokkakalaFinnish
- nokkahaukiFinnish
- AguiaFrench
- AiguilleFrench
- Aiguille de MerFrench
- aiguilletteFrench
- aiquilleFrench
- orphieFrench
- Orphie CommuneFrench
- Orphie VulgaireFrench
- שיפודן מובהקHebrew
- iglicaCroatian
- csőrös csukaHungarian
- hornfiskurIcelandic
- AgunItalian
- AgoraItalian
- AgugghiaItalian
- AguggiaItalian
- agugliaItalian
- Aguglia d'aligaItalian
- AguzzelloItalian
- AquileItalian
- AugghiaItalian
- AujeItalian
- GujeItalian
- Paprastoji vėjažuvėLithuanian
- VējzivsLatvian
- horngjelNorwegian Bokmål
- geepDutch
- horngjelNorwegian Nynorsk
- horngeirNorwegian Nynorsk
- nebbsildNorwegian Nynorsk
- horngjelNorwegian
- nebbesildNorwegian
- belonaPolish
- agulhaPortuguese
- AgulhãoPortuguese
- Peixe-agulhaPortuguese
- Peixe-agulha-do-MediterrâneoPortuguese
- PicaPortuguese
- sarganRussian
- Европейский сарганRussian
- íglicaSlovenian
- peshku lejlekAlbanian
- hornfiskSwedish
- horngäddaSwedish
- näbbgäddaSwedish
- ปลาการ์Thai
- zarganaTurkish
- Сарган звичайнийUkrainian
Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistITISTAXREFWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List
Relatives of the garfish
Other species in the same genus Belone.
CompareGarfish vs Short-beaked garfishGarfish vs Belone euxiniGarfish vs Acus marinusGarfish vs Belona indica
Common questions
Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.
What kind of animal is the garfish?
The garfish is a bony fish in the family Belonidae, order Beloniformes.
What is the scientific name of the garfish?
The scientific name of the garfish is Belone belone, in the genus Belone.
Who named the garfish and when?
The garfish was named by Linnaeus in 1760, written as (Linnaeus, 1760).
Is the garfish endangered?
No. The garfish is listed as Least Concern (LC) in the IUCN Red List global assessment, which is not a threatened category.
What are other names for the garfish?
The garfish is also called Garpike, Greenbone, Sea needle, Black sea garfish and European needlefish.
What family does the garfish belong to?
The garfish belongs to the family Belonidae, in the order Beloniformes and class Teleostei.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Garfish (Belone belone). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/belone-belone
“Garfish (Belone belone).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/belone-belone.
@misc{belone_belone_2026,
title = {Garfish (Belone belone)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/belone-belone},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}