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• Taxonomy
• Physical Description
• Distribution
• Habitat
• Similar Species
• Bibliography
• More Info
• Notes
• Keep Exploring

Overview:

Family: Morid cods; Over sandy and muddy bottoms in inshore waters to depths of 420 m. Possibly an important forage fish for commercial species.

Taxonomy

Unambiguous Synonyms:

1. Bregmaceros punctatus (Hutton, 1873)
2. Calloptilum punctatum Hutton, 1873

Notes:

Name Status: Accepted Name. Latest taxonomic scrutiny: –

Physical Description

Family Moridae:

Distribution: circumglobal. Dorsal fins usually 1 or 2, rarely 3. Anal fins 1 or 2. With or without chin barbel. Teeth on head of vomer minute, if present. Swim bladder with otophysic connection to auditory capsules. Benthopelagic to pelagic species ranging from shallow coastal areas to deep waters beyond 2500 m.

The family Moridae belongs to the Class Actinopterygii (ray-finned fishes) and the Order Gadiformes. It contains 18 genera and 100 species. It may be found in Marine environments and is primarily Marine. Members of this family are not used in the aquarium trade. Reproductively, most members of this family are nonguarders. The main mode of swimming of adult fish in this family is subcarangiform. Compared with other fish, the activity level of this family tends to be normal. Members of this family have been dated back to the upper Oligocene epoch of the Tertiary period.

Species Auchenoceros punctatus:

Males are commonly 10 cm (Total Length) in length when caught/marketed, but may be as large as 13 cm (Total Length).

Images:

Distribution

Range and Population

Indo-West Pacific

Southwest Pacific: east coast of New Zealand southward; also in the Cook Strait.

Habitat

Biome

Saltwater. Pelagic.

Similar Species

Members of the genus Auchenoceros:

There are approximately 2 species and subspecies in this genus: A. punctatum · A. punctatus (Ahuru)

Bibliography

• Cohen, D.M., T. Inada, T. Iwamoto and N. Scialabba (1990). FAO species catalogue. Vol. 10. Gadiform fishes of the world (Order Gadiformes). An annotated and illustrated catalogue of cods, hakes, grenadiers and other gadiform fishes known to date. FAO Fish. Synop. 10 (125). 442 p.
• Cohen, Daniel M., Tadashi Inada, Tomio Iwamoto, and Nadia Scialabba 1990. Gadiform Fishes of the World (Order Gadiformes): An Annotated and Illustrated Catalogue of Cods, Hakes, Grenadiers and other Gadiform Fishes Known to Date. FAO Fisheries Synopsis, no. 125, vol. 10. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Rome, Italy. x + 442. ISBN: 92-5-102890-7.
• Coppola, S.R., W. Fischer, L. Garibaldi, N. Scialabba and K.E. Carpenter (1994). SPECIESDAB: Global species database for fishery purposes. User's manual. FAO Computerized Information Series (Fisheries). No. 9. Rome, FAO. 103 p.
• Eschmeyer, William N., ed. 1998. Catalog of Fishes. Special Publication of the Center for Biodiversity Research and Information, no. 1, vol 1-3. California Academy of Sciences. San Francisco, California, USA. 2905. ISBN: 0-940228-47-5.
• Paulin, C., A. Stewart, C. Roberts and P. McMillan (1989). New Zealand fish: a complete guide. National Museum of New Zealand Miscellaneous Series No. 19. 279 p.

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Notes

Contributors:

• Bisby, F.A., Y.R. Roskov, M.A. Ruggiero, T.M. Orrell, L.E. Paglinawan, P.W. Brewer, N. Bailly, J. van Hertum, eds (2007). Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of Life: 2007 Annual Checklist. Species 2000: Reading, U.K.
• Brands, S.J. (comp.) 1989-2006. Systema Naturae 2000. The Taxonomicon. Universal Taxonomic Services, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Accessed October 7, 2006.
• FishBase
• FishBase 2006.
• Froese, R., and D. Pauly. FishBase 2004. International Center for Living Aquatic Resources Management.
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility. Accessed March 01, 2008. http://www.gbif.org Mediated distribution data from 2 providers.
• McCosker, John (from FishBase).
• Moore, Jon A. (from FishBase).

Data Sources:

Accessed through GBIF Data Portal March 01, 2008:

• FishBase: FishBase DiGIR Provider - Philippine Server
• Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences, Rutgers University: South Western Pacific Regional OBIS Data provider for the NIWA Marine Biodata Information System

Identifiers:

• Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) Taxonomic Serial Number (TSN): 550666
• Fishbase Species ID: 2007
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility Taxonkey: 110026
• Zipcode Zoo Species Identifier: 103573