King dory

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King dory
Drawing by Dr Tony Ayling
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Actinopterygii Order: Zeiformes Family: Cyttidae Genus: Cyttus Species: C. traversi
Binomial name
Cyttus traversi Hutton, 1872

The king dory or lookdown dory, Cyttus traversi, is a dory, in the genus Cyttus, found around South Africa, southern Australia, and New Zealand, over the continental shelf at depths of between 200 and 800 m. Its length is between 20 and 40 cm.

The king dory is very similar in shape to the New Zealand dory but the mouth is lower on the snout, and the fish is larger. The second common name refers to the large eyes appearing to be permanently pearing down the long sloping snout.

The juvenile form of this fish is completely different from the adult - they have a very deep narrow body and greatly elongate fin rays on the front portion of the dorsal and pelvic fins. These rays are longer than the fish itself and bear a number of flattened leaf-like appendages. The body is silvery with scattered brown spots and brown patches on some of the fin appendages. These young fish are found in quite shallow waters and move into deeper water as they mature.

[edit] References

• "Cyttus traversi". 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