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
Scientific classification Edit this 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]
  • Obliquichthys maryannae Hardy, 1987

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

  1. 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.
  2. Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.) (2019). "Forsterygion maryannae" in FishBase. April 2019 version.
  3. 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.


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