Tylosurus fodiator

{{Short description|Species of fish}}

{{Speciesbox

| image = Mexican needlefish Tylosurus fodiator.jpg

| status = LC

| status_system = IUCN3.1

| status_ref = {{cite iucn | author1 = Collette, B. | author2 = Acero, A. | author3 = Rojas, P. | year = 2010 | title = Tylosurus crocodilus ssp. fodiator | volume =2010 | page = e.T184051A8228704 | doi = 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2010-3.RLTS.T184051A8228704.en }}

| taxon = Tylosurus fodiator

| authority = Jordan & Gilbert, 1882

| synonyms= *Strongylura fodiator (Jordan & Gilbert, 1882)

• Tylosurus crocodilus fodiator Jordan & Gilbert, 1882

| synonyms_ref =

}}

File:Tfodiator.jpg National Park Panama]]

Tylosurus fodiator, the Mexican needlefish, is a species of needlefish from the family Belonidae which is found only in the eastern Pacific,{{FishBase|Tylosurus|fodiator|month=April|year=2019}} from the Gulf of California south to Ecuador including the Galapagos, Cocos and Malpelo Islands. It was previously considered to be a subspecies of the houndfish but is now regarded as valid species.{{Cof record|spid=31465|title=Tylosurus fodiator|access-date=3 August 2019}} This species is normally encountered close to the coast but can be found in offshore waters. It is a predatory species, feeding mainly on small fishes. They lay eggs which adhere to objects in the water by filaments which cover the outer layer of the eggs. This species was described in 1882 by David Starr Jordan and Charles Henry Gilbert with the type locality given as Mazatlán in Sinaloa, western Mexico.