Gonorynchus gonorynchus
{{Short description|Species of fish}}
{{Speciesbox
| image = Gonorynchus gonorynchus SA.jpg
| status = LC
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| taxon = Gonorynchus gonorynchus
| authority = (Linnaeus, 1766)
| synonyms = *Cyprinus gonorynchus Linnaeus, 1766
- Cobitis gonorynchus (Linnaeus, 1766)
- Gonorhynchus gronovii Valenciennes, 1847
}}
Gonorynchus gonorynchus is a species of fish in the family Gonorynchidae, found on temperate continental shelves worldwide.{{FishBase | genus = Gonorynchus | species = gonorynchus | month = May | year = 2006}} Common names for this fish include mousefish, ratfish, sandfish, and sand eel.Tony Ayling & Geoffrey Cox, Collins Guide to the Sea Fishes of New Zealand, (William Collins Publishers Ltd, Auckland, New Zealand 1982) {{ISBN|0-00-216987-8}}
Location
Gonorynchus gonorynchus inhabits the coasts of the southern third of Africa stretching from Skeleton Coast to Mozambique as well as the coasts of Australia and Japan. Its range also stretches into the Eastern Pacific with specimens found off the coast of Chile. However, this species may be restricted to the south eastern Atlantic Ocean and southwestern Indian Ocean off the coasts of Southern Africa from the Skeleton Coast to the Mozambique Channel.{{cite journal |author=Terry Grande |year =1999 |title=Revision of the Genus Gonorynchus Scopoli, 1777 (Teleostei: Ostariophysi) |journal=Copeia |volume=1999 |issue=2 |pages=453-469 |doi=10.2307/1447492}}{{cite book |editor=Phillip C Heemstra |editor2=Elaine Heemstra |editor3=David A Ebert |editor4=Wouter Holleman |editor5=John E Randal |year=2022 |title=Coastal Fishes of the Western Indian Ocean |volume=2 |chapter=ORDER GONORYNCHIFORMES | author=Phillip C Heemstra |author-link=Phil Heemstra |pages=179-181 |isbn=978-1-990951-29-9 |publisher=South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity |url=https://saiab.ac.za/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/1._wiof_volume_2_text.pdf}}
Diet and habitat
Gonorynchus gonorynchus lives in and above the seabed at depths ranging from 0–200 m. It is generally nocturnal and buries itself in the seabed during daylight hours. It has a varied diet, eating zooplankton and free-swimming and buried invertebrates. The young are preyed upon by seabirds. As well adults of the species are preyed upon by juvenile South African hakes.
References
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Category:Fish described in 1766
Category:Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus
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