Giant boarfish

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Giant boarfish
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Perciformes
Family: Pentacerotidae
Genus: Paristiopterus
Species: P. labiosus
Binomial name
Paristiopterus labiosus
(Günther, 1872)

The giant boarfish or common boarfish or sowfish, Paristiopterus labiosus, is an armorhead of the genus Paristiopterus, found in the eastern Indian Ocean, around southern Australia, and New Zealand, at depths of between 20 and 200 m. Its length is between 45 and 100 cm, and they weigh up to 10 kg.

Juveniles of the giant boarfish look like the longfin boarfish except there is no black spot on the dorsal fin, and the colour is silver-white with dark grey oblique stripes and pale fins. Adults are more elongate with huge bony heads, gently sloping forehead, and a large thick-lipped mouth. The fourth to the seventh rays on the dorsal fin are very elongate and back-swept. The fish vary in colour from grey with distinct oblique darker stripes to olive green with a scattering of small close-set yellowish spots.

Giant boarfish have bands of small sharp grasping teeth in the front of each jaw and larger molar-like lateral teeth for crushing their prey. Their long powerful snout is ideal for probing the sand and mud for the invertebrates on which they feed. Pairs of them are occasionally seen by divers over sand near rocky reefs, and they are believed to live in the same locality for long periods.

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