''Gonorynchus'' is a genus of long thin

gonorynchiform The Gonorynchiformes are an order of ray-finned fish that includes the important food source, the milkfish (''Chanos chanos'', family Chanidae), and a number of lesser-known types, both marine and freshwater. The alternate spelling "Gonorhynch ...

ray-finned fish Actinopterygii (; ), members of which are known as ray-finned fishes, is a class of bony fish. They comprise over 50% of living vertebrate species. The ray-finned fishes are so called because their fins are webs of skin supported by bony or hor ...

, commonly called beaked salmon or beaked sandfish that live on sandy bottoms near shorelines. There are five known

extant Extant is the opposite of the word extinct. It may refer to: * Extant hereditary titles * Extant literature, surviving literature, such as ''Beowulf'', the oldest extant manuscript written in English * Extant taxon, a taxon which is not extinct, ...

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

which are placed in this

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 ...

. All have a distinctive angular snout (hence the name) that the fish use to dig themselves into the sand. The most widespread species is ''

Gonorynchus gonorynchus ''Gonorynchus gonorynchus'' is a species of fish in the family Gonorynchidae, found on temperate continental shelves worldwide. Common names for this fish include mousefish, ratfish, sandfish, and sand eel.Tony Ayling & Geoffrey Cox, ''Collins Gu ...

'', found in scattered locations worldwide. It can reach up to in length. It is a

nocturnal Nocturnality is an animal behavior characterized by being active during the night and sleeping during the day. The common adjective is "nocturnal", versus diurnal meaning the opposite. Nocturnal creatures generally have highly developed sens ...

fish, feeding on

invertebrate Invertebrates are a paraphyletic group of animals that neither possess nor develop a vertebral column (commonly known as a ''backbone'' or ''spine''), derived from the notochord. This is a grouping including all animals apart from the chordate ...

s at night and burrowing into

sand Sand is a granular material composed of finely divided mineral particles. Sand has various compositions but is defined by its grain size. Sand grains are smaller than gravel and coarser than silt. Sand can also refer to a textural class of s ...

or mud during the day. Beaked salmon are fished commercially in some areas. The flesh of '' Gonorynchus greyi'', found around

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

and

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 ...

, is reported to be "firm and of good flavour".

Species

* '' Gonorynchus abbreviatus''

Temminck Coenraad Jacob Temminck (; 31 March 1778 – 30 January 1858) was a Dutch aristocrat, zoologist and museum director. Biography Coenraad Jacob Temminck was born on 31 March 1778 in Amsterdam in the Dutch Republic. From his father, Jacob Temminck ...

& Schlegel, 1846 * '' Gonorynchus forsteri'' J. D. Ogilby, 1911 * ''

'' ( Linnaeus, 1766) * '' Gonorynchus greyi'' ( J. Richardson, 1845) * '' Gonorynchus moseleyi'' D. S. Jordan & Snyder, 1923

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1560139 Gonorynchidae Extant Maastrichtian first appearances Marine fish genera Taxa named by Giovanni Antonio Scopoli