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Local marine fish ID?


livingart

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anyone know what these are

caught these today in the habour while whitebaiting

fish is around 2 cm and swims like a clown,

brown with a white tail

will try for a better pic

sandy1168.jpg

also caught a 7.5cm barracuda :o

not sure of this one, anyone recognise it

fins are wrong for a terakhi

pectorals are more rounded than in photo

colour without flash are darker markings maybe juvenile colours

fish is 2.5cm

sandy1180.jpg

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I fink #1 is some kind of goby or "blennoid" as this website calls them http://www.sbs.auckland.ac.nz/uoa/science/about/departments/sbs/research/ecolevol/clements-kendall/nz-triplefin-fishes/nz-triplefin-fishes_home.cfm of the triplefin family. They are uber-common in NZ waters, that's a particularly cute one!

have a look on http://www.fishbase.org/search.php too, you can narrow things down by making it NZ waters only and by making it reef-associated

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  • 3 weeks later...

yes are warehou, i apologis for catching these fish but they were originally unidentifiable

little brown fish is possibly some type of blenny or weed fish, still unidebtified as it is still possibly in larval stage

i have been asked that if it dies to freeze it into a block of ice and to send to a scientist

i also have caught some fish at 5mm that are starting to look like stargazers

i got started on local marine about 25 yrs ago when i pulled an old fan belt out of the habour with a pair of seahorses attached supasi

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sandy1168.jpg

Just a guess out of left field. The colour pattern and fin proportions could change as the fish grows. The fish you caught has two dorsal (top) fins (the 1st one is very short, the 2nd one very long) and an anal (bottom) fin only slightly shorter than the 2nd dorsal fin. It also appears to have a chin barbel. It also has white/clear edges to the dorsal and anal fin and a white tail. This could change to white fin margins in larger fish.

I may be completely wrong but how about a species of Lotella: either the rock cod, Lotella rhacinus, or the beardie, Lotella phycis.

Heres a pic of a much larger beardie, courtesy of fish base http://www.fishbase.gr/summary/SpeciesS ... ame=phycis

2153837460100841066S500x500Q85.jpg

Regardless its an awesone looking fish and I'm sure Te Papa would be interested in the pic and the fish (if it dies)

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If its got a chin barbel (finger like flap off tissue at the front of the lower jaw used for detecting prey in the sand or mud) then that narrows the field down a lot. Morid cods (red cod, rock cod, beardie, etc) have the barbel, and as you say the same snout shape and a large mouth near the bottom of the head. If the tail fin is rounded at the end versus straight then that rules out a red cod. The wide long pectorals are different and the colour pattern but the pectoral fin growth may slow down as the fish get older. Anyway nothing like a stab in the dark. :D

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  • 3 weeks later...

I just talked to Andrew Stewart fish guru from Te Papa, and one of the NIWA fish experts and they agree its a cod, probably one of the 2 Lotella species: a rock cod or beardie. Andrew said this colour pattern has never been reported before as they have never seen a Lotella this small before. How are the little fish doing?

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