''Aplodactylus arctidens'', the marblefish or southern seacarp, is a species of marine ray finned fish, one of the marblefishes belonging to the

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

Aplodactylidae. It is found in the southwestern Pacific Ocean.

Taxonomy

''Aplodactylus arctidens'' was first formally described in 1842 by the

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naval surgeon,

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and naturalist Sir John Richardson with the type locality given as Port Arthur on

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. The

specific name Specific name may refer to: * in Database management systems, a system-assigned name that is unique within a particular database In taxonomy, either of these two meanings, each with its own set of rules: * Specific name (botany), the two-part (bino ...

''arctidens'' is a compound of ''arctatus'' meaning "drawn close together" and ''dens'' meaning "teeth", a reference to the densely packed rows of teeth in both jaws.

Description

''Aplodactylus arctidens'' has an elongate body which is one third to one fifth as deep as its

standard length Fish measurement is the measuring of individual fish and various parts of their anatomies. These data are used in many areas of ichthyology, including taxonomy and fisheries biology. Overall length * Standard length (SL) is the length of a fish m ...

. It has a short snout and a rounded head which has a small mouth which is slightly downturned and has fleshy lips, the upper lip projecting. The jaws have small, tricuspid teeth with a few sharply pointed ones too and they are set on 3-4 rows in the jaws. The outermost row has the largest teeth and there are two patches of

vomerine teeth The vomer (; lat, vomer, lit=ploughshare) is one of the unpaired facial bones of the skull. It is located in the midsagittal line, and articulates with the sphenoid, the ethmoid, the left and right palatine bones, and the left and right maxill ...

. There are two pairs of nostrils, the front pair have fleshy flap with small tentacles on the front and rear margins. There is a wide, flattened spine on the operculum which does not reach the margin. The

dorsal fin A dorsal fin is a fin located on the back of most marine and freshwater vertebrates within various taxa of the animal kingdom. Many species of animals possessing dorsal fins are not particularly closely related to each other, though through conv ...

has a long base but it is nearly split in two by a deep and wide incision between the spiny and soft rayed parts. The dorsal fin contains 16-19 spines and 16-18 soft rays while the

anal fin Fins are distinctive anatomical features composed of bony spines or rays protruding from the body of a fish. They are covered with skin and joined together either in a webbed fashion, as seen in most bony fish, or similar to a flipper, as se ...

has 3 spines and 6-8 soft rays. It has large pectoral fins which may be longer than the head and the lowest 5-6 rays are unbranched and fleshy. The body is covered in small, cycloid scales which are embedded in the skin, these extend on to the cheeks and operculum and create a sheath along base of the spiny portion of the dorsal fin. The largest

total length Fish measurement is the measuring of individual fish and various parts of their anatomies. These data are used in many areas of ichthyology, including taxonomy and fisheries biology. Overall length * Standard length (SL) is the length of a fish ...

recorded is . The overall colour of the head, body and fins is olive green or brown with a large number of small whitish irregular spots, blotches and lines.

Distribution and habitat

''Aplodactylus arctidens'' is found in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It occurs in southern Australia from immediately east of

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in Victoria east to Kangaroo Island in

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and in southern

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. It is found throughout New Zealand from the

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in the north to the

Snares Islands The Snares Islands / Tini Heke, known colloquially as The Snares, is a group of uninhabited islands lying about 200 km south of New Zealand's South Island and to the south-southwest of Stewart Island / Rakiura. The Snares consist of the m ...

south of New Zealand's

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, it is also found at the

Chatham Islands The Chatham Islands ( ) (Moriori: ''Rēkohu'', 'Misty Sun'; mi, Wharekauri) are an archipelago in the Pacific Ocean about east of New Zealand's South Island. They are administered as part of New Zealand. The archipelago consists of about te ...

. It is found on weedy reefs in shallow water at depths between .

Biology

''Aplodactylus arctidens'' is mainly herbivorous grazing on algae, mainly

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and brown algae, but it will eat any small animals it finds within the algae. It is a solitary species which defends a

territory A territory is an area of land, sea, or space, particularly belonging or connected to a country, person, or animal. In international politics, a territory is usually either the total area from which a state may extract power resources or a ...

, In New Zealand spawning occurs in August and September.

Fisheries

''Aplodactylus arctidens'' is not pursued by fisheries, its flesh is not reputed to be very palatable.

References

* * * Tony Ayling & Geoffrey Cox, ''Collins Guide to the Sea Fishes of New Zealand'', (William Collins Publishers Ltd, Auckland, New Zealand 1982) {{Taxonbar, from=Q2397191 Aplodactylidae Fish described in 1839