Orange clingfish
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| Diplocrepis puniceus (Richardson, 1846) |
The orange clingfish, Diplocrepis puniceus, is a clingfish, the only species in the genus Diplocrepis. It is found all around New Zealand from low water to about 5 m, on rocky coastlines. Its length is between 5 and 10 cm.
The orange clingfish has a flattened body, a pointed snout, and small dorsal and anal fins set well back near the tail. Females are red-pink on the upper surface and yellow beneath and are generally larger than the males which are olive green or brown. However, colouring is variable. The skin is scaleless. The flattened underneath acts as a sucker enabling the fish to hold fast to a rock during wave action.
Breeding is in the spring with females laying their eggs in nests prepared by the males, usually under boulders or in empty seashells. The males guard the nests and care for the eggs until they hatch after 21 days. If a rock with a clingfish underneath is turned over the clingfish will often remain attached, even out of the water.
Their diet is small crustaceans.
[edit] References
- Diplocrepis puniceus (TSN 642800). Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Accessed on 11 March 2006.
- "Diplocrepis puniceus". 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
