Orange bellowsfish
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 |
||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scientific classification | ||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||||||
| Notopogon fernandezianus (Delfin, 1899) |
The orange bellowsfish, Notopogon fernandezianus, is a snipefish of the family Centriscidae, found in all southern oceans, at depths of between 150 and 600 metres. Its length is up to 18 cm.
The orange bellowsfish is a deep-bodied species with a tubular snout equal to about a quarter of the total body length. It is similar to the crested bellowfish but has a longer dorsal spine and different coloration. There are six oblique purplish-blue bands on each side of body, on a base of silvery white. The operculums and subocular region is silvery, and the upper parts of the head and snout are dark blue. The fins are semitransparent.
They feed on bottom-living invertebrates, but may also pick individual animals from the plankton.
[edit] References
- "Notopogon fernandezianus". 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
