Dark toadfish: Difference between revisions
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Revision as of 08:38, 2 August 2006
| Dark toadfish | |
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| Drawing by Dr Tony Ayling | |
| Scientific classification | |
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| Genus: | Neophrynichthys
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| Species: | N. latus
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| Binomial name | |
| Neophrynichthys latus (Hutton, 1875)
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The dark toadfish, Neophrynichthys latus, is a fathead of the family Psychrolutidae, found on the continental shelf around New Zealand, at depths between 16 and 150 m. Its length is up to 21 cm.
The dark toadfish is a blob-shaped fish of the general appearance of a bowl of jelly that has been upturned on a plate. It has a huge rounded head (more slender though than the pale toadfish), wider than it is high, offset by a short, rapidly tapering body that ends in a small rounded caudal fin. Large fan-like pectoral fins fringe the head but the pelvic fins are small, reduced to a few short rays. Both the eyes and mouth are relatively small compared to other deepwater fish.
Dark toadfish have a smooth loose skin that is dark brown on the head, back and flanks with numerous whitish splotches, and whitish on the belly.
References
- Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.). "Neophrynichthys latus". FishBase. May 2006 version.
- 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