Cran's bully

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Crans bully
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Perciformes
Family: Eleotridae
Genus: Gobiomorphus
Species: G. basalis
Binomial name
Gobiomorphus basalis
(Gray, 1842)

The Cran's bully, Gobiomorphus breviceps, is a sleeper of the genus Gobiomorphus, found in most rivers in the North Island of New Zealand. Their length is up to 9 cm.

Cran's bully is another non-diadromous member of the Eleotridae family. They are stocky little fish that are hard to distinguish from common and upland bullies, whose distributions widely overlap that of Cran's bully. On mature males, the top edge of the first dorsal fin is a bright pinkish-orange.

Cran's bully is rarer northeast of Lake Taupo, this being thought to be a long-lasting effect of the Taupo eruption over 1800 years ago; as Cran's bully has no marine phase, their ability to colonize new river systems is limited, and once they are gone from an area it is unlikely they will re-colonize on their own.

With no requirement to go to the sea, the Cran's bully is most common at sites at mid altitudes and some distance inland. It dwells in stony rivers and streams and does not establish lake populations. Breeding behaviour is similar to the other bullies, with the male establishing a territory, and remaining to guard the eggs after they are laid.

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