a name given to several species of fishes which, by means of long fins, can sustain themselves for some time in the air. The common flying fish of the Mediterranean is thus able to raise itself so far above the surface of the sea as frequently to throw itself upon the deck of a ship; but the extreme limit of its flight is confined to an arch extending about 120 feet, when the drying of its fins necessitates its return to its proper element. See index to Ichthyology.