Graham's gudgeon

Taxobox
name = Graham's gudgeon


image_caption = Drawing by Dr Tony Ayling
regnum = Animalia
phylum = Chordata
classis = Actinopterygii
ordo = perciformes
familia = Eleotridae
genus = "Grahamichthys"
species = "G. radiata"
binomial = "Grahamichthys radiata"
binomial_authority = (Valenciennes, 1837)

Graham's gudgeon, "Grahamichthys radiata", is a sleeper of the family Eleotridae, the only member of the genus "Grahamichthys". It is found only around New Zealand in shallow coastal waters. Its length is between 5 and 6.5 cm.

Graham's gudgeon is a small goby-like fish with two separate dorsal fins, a large fan shaped pectoral fin, pelvic fins that are not fused beneath the body like those of true gobies, and a square-cut tail. The head is smooth and bluntly pointed, with a moderately sized mouth that has a protruding lower jaw and bears a number of rows of sharp conical teeth in each jaw. The outer row of teeth consist of enlarged canines and, besides these, males have a pair of prominent fang-like teeth half way back along each side of the lower jaw. There are scales on the hind half of the body only.

Small individuals are almost transparent with faint vertical bands of red, yellow, and black on the body and tail, and dark pigment areas on the head. On larger specimens the head is often dark grey and the trunk is banded with grey-brown. The eyes are blue-black.

These fish swim above sandy or muddy bottoms in shallow coastal areas and are often caught with whitebait but can be distinguished by the two dorsal fins.

References

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* 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