''Mora moro'', the common mora, is a

deep-sea The deep sea is broadly defined as the ocean depth where light begins to fade, at an approximate depth of 200 metres (656 feet) or the point of transition from continental shelves to continental slopes. Conditions within the deep sea are a combin ...

fish, the only species in the genus ''Mora''. It is found worldwide in temperate seas, at depths of between 300 and 2,500 m. Its length is up to about 80 cm. Other names in English include goodly-eyed cod, googly-eyed cod, and ribaldo. In the month-long NORFANZ Expedition of 2003 which was examining the

biodiversity Biodiversity or biological diversity is the variety and variability of life on Earth. Biodiversity is a measure of variation at the genetic (''genetic variability''), species (''species diversity''), and ecosystem (''ecosystem diversity'') l ...

of the

seamount A seamount is a large geologic landform that rises from the ocean floor that does not reach to the water's surface (sea level), and thus is not an island, islet or cliff-rock. Seamounts are typically formed from extinct volcanoes that rise abru ...

s and slopes of the

Norfolk Ridge The Norfolk Ridge is a long submarine ridge running between New Caledonia and New Zealand, about 1300 km off the east-coast of Australia. It is part of a complex region of ridges between the crust of the Pacific Basin and the continental cr ...

, 594 specimens averaging 1.25 kg (2.6 lb) were collected from 24 locations. This large-eyed, generally gray species is of minor importance to commercial fisheries.

References

* * Tony Ayling & Geoffrey Cox, ''Collins Guide to the Sea Fishes of New Zealand'', (William Collins Publishers Ltd, Auckland, New Zealand 1982) Moridae Taxa named by Antoine Risso Fish described in 1810 {{Gadiformes-stub