Maori chief

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For a hereditary chieftain in Māori culture, see rangatira.
The related Paranotothenia magellanica (Maori cod, Magellanic rockcod) is sometimes called "Maori chief" too.
Maori chief
Drawing by Dr Tony Ayling
Drawing by Dr Tony Ayling
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Perciformes
Family: Nototheniidae
Genus: Notothenia
Species: N. angustata
Binomial name
Notothenia angustata
Hutton, 1875

The Maori chief, Notothenia angustata, is a cod icefish in the genus Notothenia found in the southern ocean between New Zealand and Chile south to the Antarctic, at depths down to 100 m in rocky reef areas. Its length is between 30 and 65 cm.

The Maori chief is a large bottom-living fish not too dissimilar to the Maori cod. It has a large mouth, a prominent bony ridge above each eye, a rounded caudal fin, and two lateral lines which overlap slightly. The first dorsal fin is small with only six spines.

The Maori chief is dark grey or green above, mottled with blue-black, and is yellow on the belly. There are numerous small grey spots and streaks on the head suggesting the complex tattoos once worn by Māori chiefs, and the fins are grey with some darker mottling.

It eats a variety of invertebrates and small fishes, together with seaweed.

[edit] References

  • "Notothenia angustata". FishBase. Ed. Ranier Froese and Daniel Pauly. May 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
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