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What is this fish?


Stella

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Am staying at Cape Egmont (the most western-sticky-outy bit of the Taranaki coast) and met this guy who's cat brought in a fish so weird that he had to have it taxidermied.

He assumed it was a freshwater fish, but it doesn't look like any freshwater fish I have ever seen.

The spines on the upper corner of the gill covers look quite diagnostic, but google isn't being helpful.

IMG_5801Medium.jpg

IMG_5799Medium.jpg

IMG_5800Medium.jpg

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I'd lay money on it being a thornfish, Bovichtus variegatus.

And I think we have a winner!! :thup:

The distribution mostly mentions from Wellington southwards, but it may be a similar species or have a wider distribution than expected (or Wikipedia, and the numerous people who copied and pasted from Wikipedia, got it wrong)

Thanks so much everyone! :hail:

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My first thought was the hiwihiwi, Chironemus marmoratus; We used to catch small ones around the rocks on the Coromandel.

http://www.seafriends.org.nz/issues/res ... eed_fishes

Possible that one got up into an estuary, or stranded in a rock pool???

Edit...just found a better pic of the hiwihiwi, & they have no spines on the gill covers, so thornfish it is. Interesting species.

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