Painted moki
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| Goniistius ephippium (McCulloch & Waite, 1916) |
The painted moki, Goniistius ephippium, is a morwong of the genus Goniistius, found off southern Australia, Lord Howe Island, Norfolk Island, and northern New Zealand including the Kermadec Islands, from shallow depths to 250 m, on rocky reef and coastal areas. Its length is between 30 and 50 cm.
The painted moki is a fairly large fish similar to the red moki but with two pairs of small horn-like protuberances on the forehead, one pair immediately above the thick lips and the other in front of the eyes. Another difference is the colouring: painted moki have two dark brown oblique stripes on the body and another stripe running around the eye and down the snout. There are small red-brown spots on the head and tail and a row of three large white spots along the back under the soft dorsal fin. Around the operculum and eyes, and on the bases of the fins is a brown tinged orange.
Its thick rubbery lips enables it to suck up sediment containing small invertebrates, which is its method of feeding.
Painted moki tend to spend more time in open water than the red moki.
[edit] References
- "Goniistius ephippium". 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
