Oblique-swimming triplefin
The oblique-swimming triplefin (Forsterygion maryannae) is a triplefin, found along the north east coast of the North Island of New Zealand from depths of about 5 m to 50 m. They are the only triplefins not to spend most of their time resting on the bottom, instead swimming in loose schools of up to hundreds of individuals above rocky reefs. When swimming their head is higher than the tail, giving rise to their common name.
| Oblique-swimming triplefin | |
|---|---|
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Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Blenniiformes |
| Family: | Tripterygiidae |
| Genus: | Forsterygion |
| Species: | F. maryannae |
| Binomial name | |
| Forsterygion maryannae (Hardy, 1987) | |
| Synonyms[2] | |
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Its length is between 5 and 8 cm. The body is orange-brown with a red tinged head, a black eye, and a wide black lengthwise stripe on each flank. Oblique-swimming triplefins are plankton feeders taking their tiny copepod and euphausid crustacean food in mid-water.
Its specific name honours the underwater photographer Maryann W. Williams.[3]
References
- Clements, K.D. (2014). "Forsterygion maryannae". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2014: e.T178969A1553799. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2014-3.RLTS.T178969A1553799.en. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
- Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.) (2019). "Forsterygion maryannae" in FishBase. April 2019 version.
- Christopher Scharpf; Kenneth J. Lazara (29 January 2019). "Order BLENNIIFORMES: Families TRIPTERYGIIDAE and DACTYLOSCOPIDAE". The ETYFish Project Fish Name Etymology Database. Christopher Scharpf and Kenneth J. Lazara. Retrieved 22 May 2019.
- "Obliquichthys maryannae". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 11 March 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