Pelagic basslet

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Pelagic basslet
Drawing by Tony Ayling
Drawing by Tony Ayling
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Perciformes
Family: Percichthyidae
Genus: Howella
Species: H. brodiei
Binomial name
Howella brodiei
Ogilby, 1899

The pelagic basslet, Howella brodiei, is a temperate perch of the family Percichthyidae, found circumglobally in tropical and subtropical oceans, at depths down to 1,800 m. Its length is up to 15 cm.

The pelagic basslet is a moderately elongate fish with a large eye, three sharp spines on the edge of the operculum, and a deeply forked caudal fin. The pectoral fins are long and sword-shaped.

The colour is a uniform dark brown with a silvery sheen on the body and a black mouth and gill cavity.

It feeds on small planktonic animals, especially crustaceans.

[edit] References

  • "Howella brodiei". 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