The longjawed galaxias (''Galaxias prognathus'') is a galaxiid of the

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

'' Galaxias'', found only in rivers and streams at mid to high altitudes on the eastern side of the Southern Alps in the

South Island The South Island, also officially named , is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand in surface area, the other being the smaller but more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

. It grows to a length of up to 9 cm. Longjawed galaxias are slender and elongate, having coloration consisting of spots and indistinct bands of various shades of brown and grey. The single dorsal and

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 ...

s are about two thirds of the way along the body. Like all galaxiids it lacks

scales Scale or scales may refer to: Mathematics * Scale (descriptive set theory), an object defined on a set of points * Scale (ratio), the ratio of a linear dimension of a model to the corresponding dimension of the original * Scale factor, a number w ...

and has a thick, leathery skin covered with

mucus Mucus ( ) is a slippery aqueous secretion produced by, and covering, mucous membranes. It is typically produced from cells found in mucous glands, although it may also originate from mixed glands, which contain both serous and mucous cells. It is ...

. The lower jaw is forward of the upper, giving rise to its common name.

References

*
NIWA June 2006

longjawed galaxias The longjawed galaxias (''Galaxias prognathus'') is a galaxiid of the genus ''Galaxias'', found only in rivers and streams at mid to high altitudes on the eastern side of the Southern Alps in the South Island of New Zealand. It grows to a length ...

Endemic freshwater fish of New Zealand Fish of the South Island Taxa named by Gerald Stokell

{{Osmeriformes-stub