balao, Hemiramphus Lesueur [C. A.] 1821:136 [Journal of the Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia v. 2 (pt 1); ref. 13274] Near Guadeloupe Island and Martinique Island and Santo Domingo, Lesser Antilles, West Indies. No types known. •Valid as Hemiramphus balao Lesueur 1821 -- (Parin 1973:268 [ref. 7191], Burgess et al. 1980:77 [ref. 41504], Robins & Ray 1986:102 [ref. 23100], Dennis & Bright 1988:4 [ref. 39782], Collette & Parin 1990:579 [ref. 16473], Cervigón 1991:221 [ref. 24472], Cervigón 1992:338 [ref. 23827], McEachran & Fechhelm 1998:959 [ref. 23897], Smith-Vaniz et al. 1999:175 [ref. 25013], Afonso et al. 1999:70 [ref. 25466], Schmitter-Soto et al. 2000:154 [ref. 27754], Collette et al. 2003:103 [ref. 26784], Collette 2003:1138 [ref. 26981], Menezes in Menezes et al. 2003:68 [ref. 27192], Collette 2004:3 [ref. 27583], Nelson et al. 2004:101 [ref. 27807], Page et al. 2013:102 [ref. 32708], Wirtz et al. 2013:120 [ref. 32972], Smith-Vaniz & Jelks 2014:32 [ref. 33341], Collette 2016:2160 [ref. 34601], Almeida & Alves 2019:270 [ref. 37509], Carneiro et al. 2019:200 [ref. 37250], Collette & Bemis 2019:99 [ref. 37342], Reiner 2019:138 [ref. 38139], Caires et al. in Marceniuk et al. 2021:309 [ref. 38945], Fermon et al. 2022:269 [ref. 39448] possible, Carvalho-Filho 2023:90 [ref. 40480], Page et al. 2023:149 [ref. 40505]). Current status: Valid as Hemiramphus balao Lesueur 1821. Hemiramphidae. Distribution: Western Atlantic: New York (U.S.A.) south to Santos (Brazil), including Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea; eastern Atlantic: Morocco south to Angola, including Madeira, Canary Islands, and São Tomé and Principe. Habitat: brackish, marine.