Red pigfish
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 Photo by Ian Skipworth
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| Bodianus unimaculatus (Günther, 1862) |
The red pigfish, Bodianus unimaculatus, is a wrasse of the genus Bodianus, found in eastern Australia including Lord Howe Island and Norfolk Island, and around New Zealand, including the Kermadec Islands, in reef areas at depths of between 5 and 40 m. Its length is between 30 and 50 cm.
The red pigfish when young has a long pointed snout with slightly concave forehead profile, and protruding fleshy mouth. Coloring is yellow with thin red longitudinal lines on the body and three rows of darker red splotches on the back.
Male adult colours are dark red on the back and silvery-red on the belly with a large white patch under the soft dorsal fin. The outer rays of the lunate caudal fin are thickened and long.
Spawning takes place during the winter and spring, as is usual for this genus. Their diet consists of a wide variety of small prey animals including many kinds of molluscs, crabs, amphipods, brittlestars, and small sea urchins.
[edit] References
- Bodianus unimaculatus (TSN 613378). Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Accessed on 18 April 2006.
- "Bodianus unimaculatus". FishBase. Ed. Ranier Froese and Daniel Pauly. January 2006 version. N.p.: FishBase, 2006.
- 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
- Wade Doak, A Photographic Guide to Sea Fishes of New Zealand, (New Holland Publishers (NZ) Ltd, Auckland, New Zealand 2003) ISBN 1-877246-95-6
