Crested bellowfish
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| Notopogon lilliei Regan, 1914 |
The crested bellowfish, Notopogon lilliei, is a snipefish of the genus Notopogon, found in the south west Pacific, western Indian, and south east Atlantic Oceans, and around southern Australia and New Zealand, at depths of between 80 and 600 m. Its length is up to 27 cm.
The crested bellowfish is a deep-bodied species with a tubular snout equal to about a quarter of the total body length. It is similar to the banded bellowsfish except there is no distinctive hump on the back immediately behind the head. Instead the profile flows smoothly up from the snout to the large, strong second dorsal spine. The hard body is covered with close-set spines and there are two rows of bony plates embedded in the skin of the back behind the head.
The colour is orange-pink on the back and silver below with an oblique silver-adged dark band on the lower flanks. The fins are orange with clear bands.
They feed on bottom-living invertebrates, but may also pick individual animals from the plankton.
[edit] References
- "Notopogon lilliei". FishBase. Ed. Ranier Froese and Daniel Pauly. May 2006 version. N.p.: FishBase, 2006.
- 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
