Eldons galaxias
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| Galaxias eldoni McDowall, 1997 |
The Eldons galaxias, Galaxias eldoni, is a galaxiid of the genus Galaxias, found only in the Taieri catchment in Otago, New Zealand. It grows to a length of up to 15 cm.
The Eldons galaxias has 15 caudal fin rays, and this is used to distinguish it from dusky galaxias Galaxias pullus (14 fin rays), and roundhead galaxias Galaxias anomalus (16 fin rays), both of which also occur in the Taieri River catchment.
The single dorsal and anal fins are rounded, and set back near the caudal fin. Like all galaxiids it lacks scales and has a thick, leathery skin covered with mucus. Colouring is irregular dark brown markings tending to approximate vertical bars, on a light brown background.
Eldons galaxias tend to prefer riffle habitats, but can also be found in pools. They occupy a diverse range of streams from high altitude tussock streams to low altitude forested ones. Often they are found upstream of large waterfalls that restrict the distribution of salmonids They are non-diadromous and therefore do not have a marine phase and is not part of the whitebait catch.
[edit] References
- "Galaxias eldoni". FishBase. Ed. Ranier Froese and Daniel Pauly. March 2006 version. N.p.: FishBase, 2006.
- NIWA June 2006
