Fish o' the Day - Atlantic flying fish

Well, actually just flying fish in general. Cheilopogon melanurus, is one of some sixty species in the Family Exocoetidae which are fairly common in tropical and subtropical oceans. Their most distinctive features, and the source of their remarkable airmanship, are their greatly elongated pectoral fins. Flying fish, when threatened by predators (and sometimes, apparently, just for the heck of it), reach speeds in excess of 40 mph and project themselves out of the water. If they hit it just right, they may glide for as much as 50 m. The tail has to beat mightily to get them in the air, with as many as 70 strokes per second, sort of the aquatic equivalent of the wings of a hummingbird. At the end of their glide, they may fold the wings back along the body and drop into the water or angle the tail into the water to whip themselves airborne again.

The Atlantic flying fish is not the most impressive of the bunch - members of the genus Cypselurus actually employ two pairs of fins to stay in the air longer. C. melanurus, however, are an important part of pelagic food webs in the Atlantic. They feed largely on plankton, and are themselves fed upon by a number of large predatory fish like sailfish. That's assuming, of course, that the sails can catch them.

Here you go. I think this is from the Life series. The audio is a little patchy, but it's better than listening to Oprah. Check out the asymmetry of the tail.