''Hyporhamphus ihi'', the garfish or piper, is a

halfbeak Hemiramphidae is a family of fishes that are commonly called halfbeaks, spipe fish or spipefish. They are a geographically widespread and numerically abundant family of epipelagic fish inhabiting warm waters around the world. The halfbeaks are ...

found all around

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 ...

in shallow inshore waters.

Description

Hyporhamphus ihi by Frank Edward Clarke (cropped)

The garfish is an unusual looking fish with many distinct features such as its elongated slender body, as well as its long lower jaw. The garfish typically grows to about 22 centimeters. The colouring of the fish allows it to appear somewhat camouflaged due to it having a greenish blue upper body with brown flecks and a silver-white belly and underbody.McMillan, P.J., Francis, M.P., James, G.D., Paul, L.J., Marriott, P.J., Mackay, E., Wood, B.A., Griggs, L.H., Sui, H. and Wei, F. (2011
''New Zealand fishes''
Volume 1: A field guide to common species caught by bottom and midwater fishing. NZ Aquatic Environment and Biodiversity Report, No. 68. Wellington. Ministry of Fisheries.How to Catch Piper/Garfish
Allan Burgess, New Zealand Online Fishing Magazine, 24 October 2020. According to Montgomery and Saunders, "the fish can control its coloration by expanding or reducing the pigment in the dorsal melanophores". They also have a long silver strip running from the top of the pectoral fin base to the tail. The pectoral, dorsal, pelvic and caudal fins are dusky, and the anal fin are pale. As is usual with

fish 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 see ...

s, the

pectoral 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 ...

allows the fish to turn left or right and also support the stability of the fish. 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 ...

, located well back on the garfish helps it make sharp turns and stabilise rolling. Unlike most fishes, the dorsal fin of the garfish lacks spines. Rather than having multiple spines running top to bottom, the dorsal fin is soft and veins of cartilage give rigidity to it when needed. The pelvic fin aids the fish with stopping quickly and general stability, as well as diving into deeper waters and rising to the surface. The

caudal 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 ...

is the main propulsion fin, also known as the tail. Garfish have a forked caudal fin with a large lower lobe, called the hypocercal tail. 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 ...

on the garfish, which allows it to have further stability in the water, is located at the back of the body. However, their most distinctive feature is their long lower jaw with an orange tip. Their upper jaw is usually longer than wide and their lower jaw is usually longer than the head length, which allows them to detect vibrations caused by prey.Walrond, Car
Coastal fish - Shallow-water fish: Piper
Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand. Updated: 12 Jun 2006. Accessed:28 November 2020. Due to their mouth posted far back from the front end of their body, "this places the mouth in a superior position making the garfish 'well adapted 'for surface feeding". Another feature they obtain is the two to three rows of teeth that they have in both the upper and lower jaw. These type of teeth are called tricuspid, there are teeth are on both the

premaxillae The premaxilla (or praemaxilla) is one of a pair of small cranial bones at the very tip of the upper jaw of many animals, usually, but not always, bearing teeth. In humans, they are fused with the maxilla. The "premaxilla" of therian mammal has b ...

(which is small cranial bones at the very tip of the upper jaw, and the

dentaries In anatomy, the mandible, lower jaw or jawbone is the largest, strongest and lowest bone in the human facial skeleton. It forms the lower jaw and holds the lower teeth in place. The mandible sits beneath the maxilla. It is the only movable bone ...

(which is an anterior bone of the lower jaw which is an area that bears teeth.

Distribution

The garfish is endemic to New Zealand and this particular species is only found here, however southern garfish, ''H. melanochir'' a similar species can be identified in Australia.Garfish (gar) ''Hyporhamphus ihi''
Fisheries summary 2013, Fisheries New Zealand Infosit. The garfish occurs all around New Zealand. They are also found in the southwest Pacific and the Chatham Islands. However, they are most common in northern and central inshore areas of New Zealand. Garfish occupy inshore waters to depths of a few meters, in sheltered gulfs, bays, and larger

estuaries An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environment ...

, mainly around

seagrass meadow A seagrass meadow or seagrass bed is an underwater ecosystem formed by seagrasses. Seagrasses are marine (saltwater) plants found in shallow coastal waters and in the brackish waters of estuaries. Seagrasses are flowering plants with stems and ...

s or shallow waters, and over shallow reefs. Although garfish are widespread, it is rare and uncommon to estimate garfish abundance. Garfish (gar) ''Hyporhamphus ihi''
Fisheries summary 2017, Fisheries New Zealand Infosit. This is due to their localised schooling behaviour, which makes it difficult to estimate abundance.

Life cycle

The lifestyle patterns of the garfish are unknown to New Zealand in great detail; however, they may be similar to closely related species from Australia such as the southern garfish (''H. melanochir''). It is known that the New Zealand garfish matures at 22 cm and had a maximum of 40 cm, however, the maximum age may be slightly lower than 10 years. The New Zealand garfish is known to spawn at the end of spring to around the beginning summer. This is done in shallow bays, allowing the eggs to sink to the seafloor and adhere to vegetation. After the eggs adhere to the vegetation the larvae may be taken in coastal plankton surveys. It is also suspected that the garfish are less variable in comparison to other small pelagic eggs. This feature however allows localized populations, which are susceptible to local depletion.

Prey and predators

Garfish are

omnivorous An omnivore () is an animal that has the ability to eat and survive on both plant and animal matter. Obtaining energy and nutrients from plant and animal matter, omnivores digest carbohydrates, protein, fat, and fiber, and metabolize the nutri ...

as they feed on

eelgrass Eelgrass is a common name for several plants and may refer to: * ''Zostera'', marine eelgrass * ''Vallisneria'', freshwater eelgrass {{Short pages monitor