Bluegill bully

The bluegill bully (Gobiomorphus hubbsi) is a fish in the family Eleotridae that is endemic to New Zealand. It lives in shallow, fast-flowing riffles and torrents, where it forages and shelters amongst the gravels. It has a similar distribution to the other endemic riffle specialist, the torrentfish.[2] It can be found up to 100 kilometres (62 mi) inland, and from sea level up to an elevation of 480 metres (1,570 ft).[3] The bluegill bully is the smallest of the Eleotrids, commonly reaching only 60–70 mm (2.4–2.8 in).[2]

Bluegill bully
Male bluegill bully
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Gobiiformes
Family: Eleotridae
Genus: Gobiomorphus
Species:
G. hubbsi
Binomial name
Gobiomorphus hubbsi
(Stokell, 1959)
Synonyms
  • Philypnodon hubbsi Stokell, 1959

It is named for the bright blue edge to the operculum or gill cover, which is present in both sexes. It eats aquatic invertebrates and has an upturned mouth, allowing them to pick invertebrates off the stones above them.[2] The species is crepuscular with the most active times for feeding at dawn and dusk.[4] They feed predominantly on Deleatidium mayfly nymphs.[5]

They are amphidromous (meaning that they migrate from fresh water to the seas, or vice versa, but not for the purpose of breeding). The eggs are laid in fresh water and on hatching, the larvae are carried to sea for the first stage of their development.[6] The larvae are at risk of being captured by irrigation schemes in some catchments, leading to high losses. It has been proposed that avoiding water abstraction in lower reaches of waterways in the hours post sunset could significantly improve survival of larvae.[7]

The young fish return to fresh water after a few months and continue to slowly migrate upstream as they get older. Thus the largest bluegills are found furthest upstream.[8]

References
  1. Allibone, R.; David, B.; Franklin, P.; Hitchmough, R.; West, D.; Ling, N.; Crow, S. (2014). "Gobiomorphus hubbsi". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2014: e.T197321A2482164. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2014-3.RLTS.T197321A2482164.en. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
  2. "NIWA Fish Atlas - Bluegill Bully". Archived from the original on 8 December 2015. Retrieved 1 December 2015.
  3. McDowall, Bob. "Freshwater fish - Bullies, smelt and grayling". Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand. Archived from the original on 20 January 2022. Retrieved 5 March 2023.
  4. McEwan, Amber (30 April 2013). "The secret life of our bluegill bully". Forest & Bird. Archived from the original on 2023-01-27. Retrieved 2023-03-05.
  5. Scrimgeour, G. J.; Winterbourn, M. J. (September 1987). "Diet, food resource partitioning and feeding periodicity of two riffle-dwelling fish species in a New Zealand river". Journal of Fish Biology. 31 (3): 309–324. doi:10.1111/j.1095-8649.1987.tb05238.x. ISSN 0022-1112.
  6. McDowall, R.M. (1990). New Zealand Freshwater Fishes: A natural history and guide. Auckland: Heinemann Reed. ISBN 0 7900 0022 9.
  7. Jarvis, MG; Closs, GP (2015-10-02). "Larval drift of amphidromous Gobiomorphus spp. in a New Zealand coastal stream: a critical spatial and temporal window for protection". New Zealand Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research. 49 (4): 439–447. doi:10.1080/00288330.2015.1072569. ISSN 0028-8330.
  8. Atkinson, N.K.; Joy, M.K. (2010). "Longitudinal size distributions of bluegill bullies (Gobiomorphus hubbsi) and torrentfish (Cheimarrichthys fosteri) in two large New Zealand rivers". New Zealand Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research. 43 (2): 643–651. doi:10.1080/00288330909510030.

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