Goanna fish

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Goanna fish
Drawing by Dr Tony Ayling
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Actinopterygii Order: Notacanthiformes Family: Halosauridae Genus: Halosaurus Species: H. pectoralis
Binomial name
Halosaurus pectoralis McCulloch, 1926

The goanna fish, Australian halosaur, or common halosaur, Halosaurus pectoralis, is a halosaur of the genus Halosaurus, found in the south west Pacific Ocean, at depths of between 500 and 1,000 m. Its length is between 40 and 70 cm.

The rare goanna fish has a greatly elongated and pointed tail, similar to the rattails, but without a long second dorsal fin extending to the tip of the tail. The dorsal fin is set back about a third of the length of the fish, matched by pelvic fins which help distinguish it from the true eels which it resembles. The gill apertures are large, another difference from the true eels. Viewed from the side the snout is pointed and overhangs the small mouth. Unusually, the lateral line runs along the lower part of the body.

Body colour is grey or brown, with black pigment inside the mouth and gill region and also under the head.

[edit] References

• "Halosaurus pectoralis". FishBase. Ed. Ranier Froese and Daniel Pauly. April 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