[4] Balao halfbeak have blue-gray skin on their backs,[4] while their undersides are silver or white.

[7] In the eastern Atlantic, they are known from the Canary Islands and the Gulf of Guinea from Victoria, Nigeria to Luanda, Angola.

[9] Balao halfbeak can form fairly large schools where they feed on smaller fishes and zooplankton.

[7][10][11] Although they are mainly used by humans as baitfish for sailfish and marlin, they are also used as food in the West Indies.

Reproductive Biology of Hemiramphus brasiliensis and H. balao (Hemiramphidae): Maturation, Spawning Frequency, and Fecundity.