| Hyporhamphus ihi | |
|---|---|
 | |
| A school of Hyporhamphus ihi in Northland | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Beloniformes |
| Family: | Hemiramphidae |
| Genus: | Hyporhamphus |
| Species: | H. ihi |
| Binomial name | |
| Hyporhamphus ihi | |
Hyporhamphus ihi, the garfish or piper, is a halfbeak found all around New Zealand in shallow inshore waters. [2]
The garfish is an unusual looking fish with many distinct features such as its elongated slender body, as well as its long lower jaw. The garfish typically grows to about 22 centimeters. [2] The colouring of the fish allows it to appear somewhat camouflaged due to it having a greenish blue upper body with brown flecks and a silver-white belly and underbody. [3] [4] According to Montgomery and Saunders, "the fish can control its coloration by expanding or reducing the pigment in the dorsal melanophores". [5] They also have a long silver strip running from the top of the pectoral fin base to the tail. [3]
The pectoral, dorsal, pelvic and caudal fins are dusky, and the anal fin are pale. [3] As is usual with fish fins, the pectoral fin allows the fish to turn left or right and also support the stability of the fish. The dorsal fin, located well back on the garfish helps it make sharp turns and stabilise rolling. [5] Unlike most fishes, the dorsal fin of the garfish lacks spines. Rather than having multiple spines running top to bottom, the dorsal fin is soft and veins of cartilage give rigidity to it when needed. [6] The pelvic fin aids the fish with stopping quickly and general stability, as well as diving into deeper waters and rising to the surface. The caudal fin is the main propulsion fin, also known as the tail. Garfish have a forked caudal fin with a large lower lobe, called the hypocercal tail. [5] The anal fin on the garfish, which allows it to have further stability in the water, is located at the back of the body. [5]
However, their most distinctive feature is their long lower jaw with an orange tip. [5] Their upper jaw is usually longer than wide and their lower jaw is usually longer than the head length, [5] which allows them to detect vibrations caused by prey. [7] Due to their mouth posted far back from the front end of their body, "this places the mouth in a superior position making the garfish 'well adapted 'for surface feeding". [5] Another feature they obtain is the two to three rows of teeth that they have in both the upper and lower jaw. [5] These type of teeth are called tricuspid, there are teeth are on both the premaxillae (which is small cranial bones at the very tip of the upper jaw, [8] and the dentaries (which is an anterior bone of the lower jaw which is an area that bears teeth. [9]
The garfish is endemic to New Zealand and this particular species is only found here, however southern garfish, H. melanochir a similar species can be identified in Australia. [10] The garfish occurs all around New Zealand. They are also found in the southwest Pacific and the Chatham Islands. [4] However, they are most common in northern and central inshore areas of New Zealand. [3]
Garfish occupy inshore waters to depths of a few meters, [3] in sheltered gulfs, bays, and larger estuaries, mainly around seagrass meadows or shallow waters, and over shallow reefs. [3] Although garfish are widespread, it is rare and uncommon to estimate garfish abundance. [11] This is due to their localised schooling behaviour, which makes it difficult to estimate abundance. [11]
The lifestyle patterns of the garfish are unknown to New Zealand in great detail; however, they may be similar to closely related species from Australia such as the southern garfish (H. melanochir). [10] It is known that the New Zealand garfish matures at 22 cm and had a maximum of 40 cm, however, the maximum age may be slightly lower than 10 years. [10]
The New Zealand garfish is known to spawn at the end of spring to around the beginning summer. [11] This is done in shallow bays, allowing the eggs to sink to the seafloor and adhere to vegetation. [10] After the eggs adhere to the vegetation the larvae may be taken in coastal plankton surveys. [10] It is also suspected that the garfish are less variable in comparison to other small pelagic eggs. This feature however allows localized populations, which are susceptible to local depletion. [10]
Garfish are omnivorous as they feed on eelgrass, seaweed and smaller crustaceans, [7] such as zooplankton, mysids, crab larvae and polychaete larvae. [5] The garfish is a nocturnal planktivore however, does not rely on sight to catch prey. [5] It was seen that a tapetum lucidum was absent. [5] This means that the amount of light that can pass through the retina was not as strong as nocturnal fish that obtain this feature. Their pupils are small and are fully occupied by the lens. [5] The garfish swims with a nearly rigid body, which has been related to its use of the lateral line in feeding. [5] Due to the presence of the lateral line system and the absence of the tapetum lucidum it indicated that the beak may have had a sensory function. [5] This led to the hypothesis that the garfish use their anterior lateral line system to detect prey. [5]
Due to the garfish's localised schooling behavior, they attract bigger species of fish and mammals such as the kingfish (Morrison, Lowe, Spong & Rush, 2007) and dolphins. [12] The schooling behavior of garfish also exposes them to heavy predation from sea birds such as gannets, shags and penguins. However, it is unlikely that garfish would be predated on by all three seabird species at once. The species of seabird that the garfish is subject to predation from is heavily dependent on whereabouts in the marine environment they are. Garfish schooling in shallow harbor areas are likely to be predated upon by shags, while garfish schooling in more open, deeper waters will more likely become prey for gannets/penguins. [6]
Garfish were once a staple resource for early Maori and were of high cultural significance. They were a source of food as well as an important source of bait when fishing for larger species such as yellowtail kingfish. Garfish were generally caught by dragging a finely woven flax net across seagrass beds in shallow harbors. A seine-like technique was used where one end of the net was fixed to the shore while the other end was dragged out and around in a large arc and pulled back to shore. [13] The same technique is still used by modern fishermen by where a fine mesh net is dragged around shallow harbors. [13] The garfish are often kept alive and transported to other fishing grounds where they are deployed as live baits for fish such as snapper, kingfish and kahawai.
The prickly shark is one of the two species of sharks in the family Echinorhinidae, found in the Pacific Ocean over continental and insular shelves and slopes, and in submarine canyons. Bottom-dwelling in nature, it generally inhabits cool waters 100–650 m (330–2,130 ft) deep, but it also frequently enters shallower water in areas such as Monterey Bay off California. This stocky, dark-colored shark grows up to 4.0 m (13.1 ft) long, with two small dorsal fins positioned far back on its body and no anal fin. It is characterized by a dense covering of thorn-like dermal denticles, hence its common name.
The Australian barracuda, arrow barracuda, Australian sea pike, sea pike, snook, or shortfin barracuda, Sphyraena novaehollandiae, is a barracuda of the genus Sphyraena which occurs in the south-western Pacific Ocean.
The Australian weasel shark is an uncommon species of ground shark in the family Hemigaleidae. It inhabits shallow waters off northern Australia to a depth of 170 m (560 ft); smaller sharks frequent sand and seagrass habitat and shift to coral reefs as they grow older. A slim, drab species reaching a length of 1.1 m (3.6 ft), it has sickle-shaped fins with dark tips on the second dorsal fin and caudal fin upper lobe. Its upper teeth are broad with strong serrations only on the trailing edge. The lateral line along each side is prominent and exhibits a downward curve below the second dorsal fin.
The Kapala stingaree is a species of stingray in the family Urolophidae, endemic to inshore waters off southeastern Queensland and New South Wales. It is commonly found on and around rocky reefs at a depth of 10–130 m (33–427 ft). Reaching 51 cm (20 in) in length, the Kapala stingaree has a rounded, diamond-shaped pectoral fin disc and a slender tail, which ends in a leaf-shaped caudal fin and bears lateral skin folds and a small dorsal fin in front of the stinging spine. It has a distinctive bell-shaped curtain of skin between its nostrils. This species is greenish above, with a highly variable pattern of dark markings usually found outside and between the eyes, and over the back and tail.
The mutton snapper is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a snapper belonging to the family Lutjanidae. It is found in the Western Atlantic Ocean.
The Malabar trevally, also known as the Malabar jack, Malabar kingfish or nakedshield kingfish, is a species of large inshore marine fish of the jack family, Carangidae. It is distributed throughout the Indian and west Pacific Oceans from South Africa in the west to Japan and Australia in the east, inhabiting reefs and sandy bays on the continental shelf. The Malabar trevally is similar to many of the other species in the genus Carangoides, with the number of gill rakers and the grey-brown colour of the tongue being the diagnostic features. The Malabar trevally is a predator, taking a variety of small fish, cephalopods and crustaceans. The species is of minor economic importance throughout its range, caught by a variety of net and handline methods.
The cleftbelly trevally, also known as the cleftbelly kingfish, Kuweh trevally or thin crevalle, is a species of tropical marine fish of the jack family, Carangidae. The species inhabits coastal waters throughout the Indo-West Pacific region from South Africa in the west to Japan in the east, often found near the water's surface. The cleftbelly trevally is the only member of the genus Atropus and is distinguished by a number of anatomical characteristics, with a deep median groove in the belly giving the species its common name. It is not a large fish, growing to a maximum recorded length of 26.5 cm. Cleftbelly trevally are predatory fish, taking a variety of small crustaceans and fish. The species is of minor importance to fisheries throughout its range.
The coastal trevally, also known as the onion trevally, Japanese trevally or bluefin kingfish, is a species of inshore marine fish in the jack family Carangidae. The species is distributed throughout the tropical and subtropical waters of the Indian and west Pacific Oceans, from South Africa in the west to Japan and New Caledonia in the east, reaching as far south as Australia. The species is found on deep coastal reefs, both in schools and as solitary individuals, where they prey on small midwater organisms including crustaceans, small fish and cephalopods. The species is taken as bycatch in a number of fisheries throughout its range by a number of fishing methods and is of little commercial value, but is considered to be a good table fish. A mistype in the original volume in which Eduard Rüppell named the species led to the combination Carangoides caeruleopinnatus, which has incorrectly spread through the literature.
The shadow trevally, also known as the shadow kingfish, twothread trevally or Aldabra trevally, is a species of inshore marine fish in the jack family Carangidae. The species is patchily distributed throughout the tropical and subtropical waters of the Indian and west Pacific Oceans, from South Africa in the west to Japan and Samoa in the east, reaching as far south as Indonesia and New Caledonia. It is most easily distinguished from similar species by as series of dark rectangular blotches under the second dorsal fin, giving a 'shadowed' appearance, from which its common name is derived. The shadow trevally is a reasonably large fish, growing to 85 cm in length and at least 2.6 kg in weight. It inhabits shallow coastal waters, including reefs, bays, and estuaries, where it takes small fish and benthic crustaceans as prey. Nothing is known of the species' ecology and reproductive biology. It is of little importance to fisheries, and is occasionally taken by bottom trawls and other artisanal fishing gear.
The barcheek trevally, also known as the barcheek kingfish, shortridge trevally or oblique-banded trevally, is a species of moderately large marine fish of the jack family Carangidae. The barcheek trevally is distributed throughout the tropical waters of the Indo-west Pacific region, ranging from South Africa in the west to Japan, Australia and a number of small central Pacific islands in the east. The species inhabits inshore and offshore waters, found along the slopes of lagoons and out to deeper reefs on the continental shelf, where it preys on small fish and benthic crustaceans. It is a moderately large fish, growing to a maximum recorded length of 50 cm, and can be distinguished from similar species by its somewhat protruding lower jaw and the dark banding on its operculum. It is of minor importance to fisheries throughout its range, taken by trawling, hook and line methods and various inshore fish netting methods.
The Senegal jack, also known as the African jack, is a species of large marine fish classified in the jack family Carangidae. The species is distributed through the tropical waters of the eastern Atlantic Ocean, ranging along the west African coast from Angola in the south to Mauritania in the north. It can be distinguished from co-occurring relatives by its longer dorsal fin lobe, as well as a host of other anatomical features. The Senegal jack grows to a known maximum length of 1 m. It is a coastal species, known to live semi-pelagically, inhabiting both the sea floor and surface waters to depths of around 200 m. The Senegal jack is a predatory species, taking fish, crabs and shrimps as its main prey items. The species reaches sexual maturity at 21 cm in females and 24 cm in males, with spawning occurring in two periods; February to April and September to November. The species is of minor importance to fisheries, and is not discriminated from other jacks in catch statistics. It is taken by trawls, seines and hook and line, and sold fresh or preserved.
The torpedo scad, also known as the hardtail scad, finny scad, finletted mackerel scad or cordyla scad, is a species of moderately large marine fish classified in the jack and horse mackerel family, Carangidae. The torpedo scad is distributed throughout the tropical Indo-Pacific region, ranging from South Africa in the west to Tonga in the east, extending to Japan in the north and Australia in south. It is a schooling pelagic fish which occupies the surface layers of both inshore and offshore oceanic waters. The torpedo scad is easily identified by both its 'torpedo' shaped body and a series of detached finlets at the rear of both the dorsal and anal fins. The largest recorded individual was 80 cm long and weighed 4 kg, although it is more common at lengths less than 40 cm. It is a predatory species, taking a variety of fish, cephalopods and crustaceans by both active and filter feeding. There is a shift in diet as the species grow; however fish is the dominant prey in all size classes. Torpedo scad reach sexual maturity at 22 cm in females and 26.4 cm in males, with spawning occurring between March and July in India, where significant research into larval growth and morphometrics has been carried out.
The king threadfin, also known as the blind salmon, blink tassel-fish, burnett salmon, gold threadfin, king salmon, kingfish, Sheridan threadfin, triped tassel fish, or threadfin salmon, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a threadfin from the family Polynemidae which is found in southern New Guinea and northern Australia.
The longrakered trevally, also known as the cale cale trevally and heavyjawed kingfish, is a species of marine fish in the jack and horse mackerel family Carangidae. The longrakered trevally is distributed throughout the tropical and subtropical waters of the Indian and west Pacific Oceans, from Mozambique and Madagascar in the west, to Japan and northern Australia in the east. A large species growing to a recorded length of 1 m, the longrakered trevally is distinguished by is protruding lower jaw, elongated gill rakers and lack of villiform teeth on its tongue. It is an inshore species, restricted to coastal and estuarine regions, where it preys on fishes and crustaceans. Little is known of the species reproductive cycle or growth. The longrakered trevally is of minor importance to fisheries and is often taken as bycatch in finfish and prawn trawls, as well as by recreational fishermen.
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Sphyraena chrysotaenia, the yellowstripe barracuda, is a species of predatory, ray finned fish from the family Sphyraenidae which is found in the Indo-West Pacific region. It has entered the Mediterranean Sea from the Red Sea through the Suez Canal as a Lessepesian migrant and is now an important species in the fisheries of the eastern Mediterranean.
Hyporhamphus affinis, the tropical halfbeak, tropical garfish, insular halfbeak or coral reef halfbeak, is a species of schooling marine fish from the family Hemiramphidae. It is distributed through the Indo-Pacific regions and has been recorded in the Mediterranean Sea which it reached through the Suez Canal.
Hyporhamphus unifasciatus, the common halfbeak or the Atlantic silverstripe halfbeak, is a bony fish in the family Hemiramphidae. It is found in the subtropical western Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico. It is a common fish and not used for food to any great extent, and the International Union for Conservation of Nature has listed its conservation status as being of "least concern".
Pseudorhombus arsius, the largetooth flounder, is a species of left-eyed flatfish, that is the dark side with the eyes on the adult fish is the left side of the fish's body, from the family Paralichthyidae. As Rhombus polyspilos it was named as the type species of the genus Pseudorhombus. It is an Indo-Pacific species and is fished for by both recreational and commercial fisheries.
The silk snapper, the West Indian snapper, yellow-eyed snapper or yellow-eyed red snapper, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a snapper belonging to the family Lutjanidae. It is found in the Western Atlantic Ocean.