Scientific Name	Velifer hypselopterus   Pronounce			by: Lab of Fish Ecol. and Evo., BRCAS
Author	Bleeker, 1879	Depth	20 - 110M
Chinese	草鰺	Poisonous Fish	No
Family_Chinese	草鰺科	Economic Fish	No
Family	F201　Veliferidae	Edible Fish	Yes	Chinese In Mainland China	旗月魚
Max Length	40 cm	Aquarium Fish	No	Common Name	草鰺、草甘(澎湖)
Distribution in World	India Ocean to West Pacific Ocean	Distribution in Taiwan	West、South、North East
Habitats	Coral、Coastal	Holotype Locality	Japanese seas
Synonyms	Velifer africanus
Reference	臺灣魚類誌(沈等, 1993)；福建魚類誌(朱等, 1985)；Fishes of Japan(Nakabo, 2002)  Bleeker, P. 1879 朱元鼎 編 1985 沈世傑 編 Shih-Chieh Shen ed. 1993 Nakabo T. 2002 Nakabo T. 2002
Specimen List	ASIZP0055256. ASIZP0058845. FRIP01193. FRIP21213. NMMBP06531. NTMP1214. NTMP1291. NTUM01578. NTUM04469. NTUM06470. NTUM06493. NTUM06866. NTUM06991. NTUM08654. SIO90-152d.
Common Name	Sailfin velifer
Redlist Status	Not in IUCN Redlist
Characteristic	Body deep, strongly compressed. Eye moderately large. Upper jaw highly protrusible; teeth absent. Anterior dorsal- and anal-fin elements retractable in a thick, scaly sheath of skin located at base of fin portions. Dorsal and anal fins long, with anterior elements moderately to conspicuously elongate; both fins shaped like large fans; total dorsal-fin rays 33 to 44; total anal-fin rays 25 to 35; anterior elements of both fins are I-II spines. Body blue-green with 5 to 7 dark vertical bars between nape and caudal peduncle; dorsal and anal fins with blue and bright yellow bands, giving the appearance of yellow spots against a blue background; a black blotch of pigment on posterior portion of dorsal fin.
habitats	Rare fishes; inhabits in shallow to moderate depths down to 110 m.
Distribution	Found in southern Madagascar and also reported from India, Viet Nam and Japan. Also found in Indonesia, the Arafura Sea and northwestern Australia. It found in southwestern and northeastern Taiwanese waters.
Utility	No commercial importance.