Some fish scorn the easy life of the shoreline, and instead spend most of their lives out to sea, wandering in the wild blue yonder. In a new book from the University of Chicago Press, Fishes of the Open Ocean, author Julian Pepperell lets readers get up close and personal with these impressive and mysterious ocean denizens.

A Silver Flyer

This gorgeous picture shows a flying fish gliding towards touchdown on the smooth sea. The flying fish achieves takeoff by flapping its tail at speeds of 50 to 70 beats per second, and spreading its "wings," or modified fins. Scientists have observed flying fish traveling more than 400 yards in a single flight, though Pepperell writes that such distances are only achieved when the fish dips its whirring tail back into the water a few times for extra bursts of propulsion.