Mendosoma lineatum
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 Drawing by Dr Tony Ayling
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| Mendosoma lineatum Guichenot, 1848 |
The telescope fish, Mendosoma lineatum, is a trumpeter of the genus Mendosoma, found throughout sub-Antarctic and cool temperate waters, from the surface to 20 m, including large tidal pools. Its length is between 25 and 40 cm.
The telescope fish has a pointed upturned snout with an extensible mouth that can be protruded forward and downward to form a long tube, providing its common name.
It is dark olive green dorsally, becoming pale on the sides, and silvery ventrally. The back and sides are striped longitudinally with green lines and small blue dots.
They may be found living within soft bodied invertebrates (e.g. salps) and the juveniles are probably pelagic.
[edit] References
- "Mendosoma lineatum". FishBase. Ed. Ranier Froese and Daniel Pauly. January 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
