Polynemidae

6 species

Threadfins are silvery grey perciform fish of the family Polynemidae. Found in tropical to subtropical waters throughout the world, the threadfin family contains eight genera and about 40 species. An unrelated species sometimes known by the name threadfin, Alectis indicus, is properly the Indian threadfish (family Carangidae).

Ranging in length from 11 cm (4.5 in) in the dwarf threadfin (Parapolynemus verekeri) to 2 m (6.6 ft) in fourfinger threadfin (Eleutheronema tetradactylum) and giant African threadfin (Polydactylus quadrifilis), threadfins are both important to commercial fisheries as a food fish, and popular among anglers. Their habit of forming large schools makes the threadfins a reliable and economic catch.

Threadfins frequent open, shallow water in areas with muddy, sandy, or silty bottoms; they are rarely seen at reefs. Their pectoral rays are thought to serve as tactile structures, helping to find prey within the sediments. Noted for being euryhaline, threadfins can tolerate a wide range of salinity levels. This attribute allows threadfins to enter estuaries and even rivers. They feed primarily on crustaceans and smaller fish.

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Eleutheronema tetradactylum

Eleutheronema tetradactylum, the fourfinger threadfin, known as ranwas in Pakistan, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a threadfin from the family Polynemidae which occurs in the Indian and western Pacific Ocean.

King threadfin

Polydactylus macrochir

The king threadfin (Polydactylus macrochir), also known as the blind salmon, blink tassel-fish, burnett salmon, gold threadfin, king salmon, kingfish, Sheridan threadfin, triped tassel fish, or threadfin salmon, is a species of marine ray-finned...

Giant African threadfin

Polydactylus quadrifilis

The giant African threadfin (Polydactylus quadrifilis) is a species of ray-finned fish from the threadfin family Polynemidae. It is found in the eastern Atlantic Ocean off the west coast of Africa.

Indian threadfin

Leptomelanosoma indicum

The Indian threadfin (Leptomelanosoma indicum) is a species of marine ray-finned fish from the family Polynemidae, the threadfins. It is a coastal species from south-east Asia which has been recorded in Papua New Guinea.

Polydactylus sexfilis

Polydactylus sexfilis, the six-finger threadfin or yellowthread threadfin, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a threadfin from the family Polynemidae which is found in the Indian and Pacific Oceans.

Atlantic threadfin

Polydactylus octonemus

The Atlantic threadfin (Polydactylus octonemus) is a species of ray-finned fish a threadfin from the family Polynemidae which is native to subtropical and temperate waters of the western Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico.