New Zealand torpedo
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| New Zealand torpedo | ||||||||||||||||
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.gif/180px-Torpedo_fairchildi_(New_Zealand_torpedo).gif) Drawing by Dr Tony Ayling
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| Torpedo fairchildi Hutton, 1872 |
The New Zealand torpedo, Torpedo fairchildi, is a species of electric ray of the family Torpedinidae found only around New Zealand, at depths of between 5 and 1,100 m.
The New Zealand torpedo can reach a total length of 1 m. It is the commonest and largest of the electric rays found in New Zealand. The body is an almost circular disc, with two small dorsal fins immediately in front of the relatively large caudal fin.
It can stun prey using electric discharges from its electric organ. The discharges can reach 50 volt and 1 kilowatt. It is ovoviviparous (bearing live young) and reproduces slowly with a doubling time estimated to be longer than 14 years.
It feeds on fish at night when it cruises slowly just off the bottom until a sleeping fish is detected by the electro-sensory system and then stunned with an electric shock.
[edit] References
- "Torpedo fairchildi". 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
