Bluegilled bully

Taxobox
name = Bluegill bully
regnum = Animalia
phylum = Chordata
classis = Actinopterygii
ordo = Perciformes
familia = Eleotridae
genus = "Gobiomorphus"
species = "G. hubbsi"
binomial = "Gobiomorphus hubbsi"
binomial_authority = (Stokell, 1959)

The bluegill bully, "Gobiomorphus hubbsi", is a sleeper of the genus "Gobiomorphus", found in most rivers in the North and South Islands of New Zealand. Their length is up to 10 cm.

Both male and female bluegill bullies have a bright blue gill membrane just behind the head, and this readily distinguishes them from other members of the Eleotridae family. They also have small dark spots covering their cheeks. When viewed from the top bluegill bullies are arrow shaped, with their narrow elongate body trailing behind the larger head.

Bluegill bullies inhabit similar habitat as torrentfish - swift broken water in open rivers and streams. They also have a similar distribution pattern to torrentfish, being absent from Fiordland, Stewart and Chatham Islands, and rare in Otago and Southland.

Bluegill bullies are the smallest members of the Eleotridae family in New Zealand. The largest specimen recorded is 10 cm, but most adults are between 6 and 7 cm in length. They are strictly carnivorous, and their food mainly consists of mayfly larvae.

References

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* [http://www.niwascience.co.nz/rc/freshwater/fishatlas/species/bluegill_bully NIWA June 2006]