- Redbait
Taxobox
name = Redbait
image_caption = Drawing by Dr Tony Ayling
regnum =Animalia
phylum =Chordata
classis =Actinopterygii
ordo =Perciformes
familia =Emmelichthyidae
genus = "Emmelichthys "
species = "E. nitidus nitidus"
trinomial = "Emmelichthys nitidus nitidus"
trinomial_authority = Richardson, 1845The redbait, bonnetmouth or southern rover, "Emmelichthys nitidus nitidus", is arover of the genus "Emmelichthys ", found at midwater over the outercontinental shelf offSouth Africa ,Australia ,New Zealand , and the south westPacific , at depths of between 100 and 500 m. Its length is up to 50 cm.The redbait is a round bodied elongate fish with a pointed snout containing a large extensible mouth with flexible toothless jaws ideal for gulping down
planktonic animals. Thedorsal fin is divided into two parts, with four short separate spines between them.Body colour is silver with blue tints on the back and a broad pink stripe on the head and flanks. The fins are pink and the
caudal fin is pink-red.The redbait is often found swimming with
pilchard s.References
*
* Tony Ayling & Geoffrey Cox, "Collins Guide to the Sea Fishes of New Zealand", (William Collins Publishers Ltd, Auckland, New Zealand1982 ) ISBN 0-00-216987-8
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