Southern pigfish
{{Short description|Species of fish}}
{{Speciesbox
| image = Southern Pigfish, Congiopodus leucopaecilus.jpg
| name = Southern pigfish
| taxon = Congiopodus leucopaecilus
| authority = (J. Richardson, 1846)
| synonyms = * Agriopus leucopaecilus Richardson, 1846
| synonyms_ref = {{FishBase|Agriopus|leucopaecilius|month=February|year=2022}}
}}
The southern pigfish (Congiopodus leucopaecilus) is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Congiopodidae, the horsefishes or pigfishes. It is found in the waters off southern Australia and New Zealand.
Taxonomy
The Southern pigfish was first formally described in 1846 as Agriopus leucopaecilus by the Scottish naval surgeon, naturalist and Arctic explorer John Richardson with the type locality given as "South Australian seas", although this was probably New Zealand.{{Cof genus|genus=Congiopodus|access-date=23 May 2022}} The specific name combines leuco, meaning "white", and poecilius, meaning "mottled", an allusion to the purplish-white spots and blotches on the body of this fish.{{cite web | url = https://etyfish.org/perciformes10/ | title = Order Perciformes (Part 10): Suborder Scorpaenoidei: Families Apistidae, Tetrarogidae, Synanceiidae, Aploacrinidae, Perryenidae, Eschmeyeridae, Pataecidae, Gnathanacanthidae, Congiopodidae and Zanclorhynchidae | work = The ETYFish Project Fish Name Etymology Database | editor1= Christopher Scharpf | editor2 = Kenneth J. Lazara | name-list-style = amp |date = 10 March 2022 | access-date = 23 May 2022 | publisher = Christopher Scharpf and Kenneth J. Lazara}}
Description
The southern pigfish has smooth skin and no spines in the anal fin. The profile of the head is nearly vertical between the eye and the origin of the dorsal fin. The overall colour of the body is brownish above and cream below marked with a row of pale and dark blotches along the flanks while the remainder of the body is blotched.{{cite book | author1 = McMillan, P.J. | author2 = Francis, M.P.| author3 = James, G.D.| author4 = Paul, L.J.| author5 = Marriott, P.J | author6 = Mackay, E. | author7 = Wood, B.A. | author8 = Griggs, L.H. | author9 = Sui, H. |author10 = Wei, F. | display-authors = 3 | year = 2011 | title = New Zealand fishes. Volume 1: A field guide to common species caught by bottom and midwater fishing | series = New Zealand Aquatic Environment and Biodiversity Report | issue = 68 | publisher = Ministry of Fisheries | issn = 1176-9440 | pages = 198-200}} The maximum published total length for this species is {{cvt|35|cm}}, although a total length of {{cvt|20|cm}} is more typical.
Distribution and habitat
The Southern pigfish is found in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It is known to occur in the waters off New Zealand, where it is rare north of the Cook Strait, and has been reported from southern Australia but there are no specimens collected in Australian waters in Australian museums.{{cite journal | author = Zhukov, Mikhail | year =2020 | title = First record of the Deepsea pigfish Congiopodus coriaceus (Scorpaeniformes: Congiopodidae) in the Great Australian Bight with new data on morphology | journal = Proceedings of the Zoological Institute RAS | volume = 324 | pages = 476-484 | doi = 10.31610/trudyzin/2020.324.4.476| doi-access = free }} This is a demersal fish which occurs over the continental shelf at depths between {{cvt|22|and|222|m}}, although it is cot typically found deeper than {{cvt|100|m}}.
Biology
References
{{Reflist}}
- {{ITIS |id=643913 |taxon=Congiopodus leucopaecilus |accessdate=18 April 2006}}
- Ayling, T. & G. Cox. Collins Guide to the Sea Fishes of New Zealand. William Collins Publishers Ltd, Auckland, New Zealand. 1982. {{ISBN|0-00-216987-8}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q4369924}}