Mottled twister
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| iMottled twister | ||||||||||||||
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| Bellapiscis lesleyae Hardy, 1987 |
The mottled twister, Bellapiscis lesleyae, is a triplefin of the family Tripterygiidae, commonly found around the coast of New Zealand in rock pools and down to depths of about 5 m in reef areas of broken rock. It length is up to 6 cm.
The mottled twister's body has an irregular checker-board pattern, extending to the level of the belly. It is found predominantly in tide pools and upper subtidal areas. It is solitary. It feeds mainly on amphipods, isopods, polychaetes, and small gastropods. Males may defend small breeding territories during the breeding season.
[edit] References
- "Bellapiscis lesleyae". FishBase. Ed. Ranier Froese and Daniel Pauly. May 2006 version. N.p.: FishBase, 2006.
